WALES

Annual Reports

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to publish the Wales Office Annual Report 2008.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office Annual Report 2009 was published on 12 June 2009.

Demos

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what  (a) private meetings and  (b) public engagements Ministers in his Department have attended at which representatives from the think-tank Demos were present in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: None.

Demos

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether his Department has any contracts with the think-tank Demos.

Peter Hain: No.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what training courses have been attended by special advisers in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Peter Hain: None.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many companies in Wales provided services or products to the automotive industry in each year since 1997.

Peter Hain: The automotive industry has remained relatively stable in Wales since 1997 with around 200 companies in the direct supply chain, currently employing 20,000 people. This includes two engine plants owned by volume vehicle manufacturers.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Casinos: Licensing

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which local authorities have obtained a licence for a  (a) small and  (b) large casino; and when each such casino (i) opened or (ii) is planned to open.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Gambling Act 2005 (Geographical Distribution of Large and Small Casino Premises Licences) Order 2008 came into effect on 20 May 2008. This order specifies which licensing authorities may issue large and small casino premises licences. It is up to the individual licensing authorities to decide when they will invite and consider applications for the new premises licences. None of them have yet done so.

Cultural Heritage

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to publish the results of the consultation on the World Heritage for the Nation: Identifying, Protecting and Promoting our World Heritage document.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 12 June 2009
	We will shortly be concluding our analysis of the results of the World Heritage Policy Review. We will publish the results in the autumn.

Departmental Mass Media

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) UK Sport,  (b) Sport England and  (c) Arts Council England spent on media monitoring services in each of the last three years; what proportion of such expenditure by each body was drawn from its Exchequer funding in each such year; and which organisations provided those services.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following figures have been provided by the bodies requested. They include subscriptions to bespoke media monitoring services and the cost of press cuttings. They do not include the costs of any transcripts or recordings, fees to the Newspaper Licensing Authority, or analysis of press coverage. All figures include VAT.
	
		
			  Arts Council England 
			  Financial year  £ 
			  2006-07  
			 Artis Durrants 15,160 
			 Romeike 11,983 
			 Arena Durrants 24,800 
			 Romeike 2,678 
			 Cision 14,252 
			   
			  2007-08  
			 Durrants 88,080 
			 Cision 30,928 
			   
			  2008-09( 1)  
			 Durrants 61,445 
			 (1) 2008-09 is a provisional figure only, as the accounts have yet to be audited.  Note: All expenditure is 100 per cent. Exchequer funded. 
		
	
	
		
			  UK Sport 
			  Financial year  £ 
			  2006-07  
			 Precise 24,537 
			 Newsping/Updatum 3,231 
			 Vocus(2) 7,050 
			  2007-08  
			 Precise 35,277 
			 Newsping/Updatum 3,231 
			 Vocus(2) 7,400 
			   
			  2008-09( 1)  
			 Precise 35,390 
			 Newsping/Updatum 3,231 
			 Vocus(2) 7,400 
			 (1) 2008-09 is a provisional figure only, as the accounts have yet to be audited. (2 )Payments to Vocus cover a number of services of which media monitoring is one. It has not been possible to assess what percentage of the overall figure is accounted for by media monitoring.  Note: All expenditure is 100 per cent. Exchequer funded. 
		
	
	Sport England have been unable to provide figures within the given timeframe. I have asked the chief executive to write when figures are available and copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Mass Media

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department,  (b) English Heritage,  (c) the Heritage Lottery Fund and  (d) the Big Lottery Fund spent on media monitoring services in 2008-09; and which organisations provided those services.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following figures include subscriptions to bespoke media monitoring services and the cost of press cuttings. They do not include the costs of any transcripts or recordings, fees to the Newspaper Licensing Authority, or analysis of press coverage. All figures are inclusive of VAT.
	
		
			  2008-09 
			   £ 
			  DCMS  
			 Precise 52,908 
			 Media Monitoring Unit(1) 45,237 
			 (1) The Department pays an annual subscription charge to the Media Monitoring Unit (part of the Central Office of Information, previously part of the Cabinet Office). This includes a number of media monitoring services. 
		
	
	The requested bodies advise the following figures, which like the DCMS figures, include subscriptions to bespoke media monitoring services and the cost of press cuttings. They do not include the costs of any transcripts or recordings, fees to the Newspaper Licensing Authority, or analysis of press coverage. They are inclusive of VAT.
	
		
			   £ 
			  English Heritage  
			 Durrants 83,394 
			 TNS Media Intelligence 12,887 
			   
			  Heritage Lottery Fund  
			 Durrants 52,742 
		
	
	The Big Lottery Fund has been unable to provide the requested information in the given timeframe. I have asked the chief executive to write when figures are available, and copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Press

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what  (a) newspapers and  (b) periodicals are delivered to the private office of each Minister in his Department; and at what cost in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Secretary of State receives the following papers and periodicals:
	 Papers
	 Daily Express
	 Daily Mail
	 Daily Mirror
	 Daily Telegraph
	 Evening Standard
	 Financial Times
	 Guardian
	 Independent
	 Sun
	 Times
	 Periodicals
	 Economist
	 New Statesman
	 Spectator
	 Tribune
	The Minister for Sport receives no periodicals, but does receive the following papers:
	 Daily Express
	 Daily Mail
	 Daily Mirror
	 Daily Telegraph
	 Evening Standard
	 Financial Times
	 Guardian
	 Independent
	 Racing Post
	 Sun
	 Times
	 Yorkshire Post
	The Minister for Culture and Tourism receives the following papers and periodicals:
	 Papers
	 Daily Mail
	 Evening Standard
	 Times
	 Periodicals
	 Caterer Hotel Keeper
	 Music Week
	 Stage
	The Minister for Creative Industries and the Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting do not receive any publications.
	The total cost for these over the period 1 May 2009 to 31 May 2009 is £283.51. All publications are cancelled on Fridays and during recess. All expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Film: Israel

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made on reaching agreement on a UK-Israel Film Co-production Treaty.

Si�n Simon: We have completed the substantive negotiations with Israel on a film co-production agreement. There are some minor elements to be finalised, but we expect to be able to announce arrangements for the signing of this treaty soon.

OLYMPICS

Olympic Games 2012

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what her most recent estimate is of the cost of hosting the London 2012 Olympics beach volleyball event at Horse Guards Parade.

Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has responsibility for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games at existing venues. The direct costs associated with staging the events at existing venues come from LOCOG's revenues which are primarily derived from commercial sponsorship, broadcast rights, ticket sales and merchandising/licensingnot from the public purse.
	There will be attributable costs to the public purse, for example in respect of the security and transport functions associated with the venue. However these costs have not yet been identified separately for individual venues, but they will form part of the overall security and transport budgets.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Conflict Prevention

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding the Government have provided for the training of African peacekeepers since 2005; how many new peacekeepers have been trained as a result; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Since 2004-05 the UK Government have allocated 80 million to Peace Support Operation (PSO) Projects in Africa. This has supported the training of approximately 12,000 African peacekeepers.

Departmental Public Consultation

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what consultations have been carried out by his Department since July 2007; and at what cost.

Michael Foster: Details of consultations carried out by the Department for International Development (DFID) are available on the DFID website:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/consultations
	Information on expenditure on public consultation is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what training courses have been attended by special advisers in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID) special advisers have not attended any training courses in the last 12 months.

Independent Evaluation Group Report

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the Independent Evaluation Group report on improving effectiveness and outcomes for the poor in health, nutrition and population; and what steps his Department plans to take in response to the report.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) supports the main findings of the Independent Evaluation Group which provide the World Bank with clear directives on how it can improve the quality of its work in health, nutrition and population.
	The World Bank has committed to refocus its capacity and support behind health system strengthening, especially in Africa. This is reflected in its health, nutrition and population strategy. DFID will continue to press for full and accelerated implementation of this strategy and has agreed to fund regional posts in health systems strengthening under the International Health Partnership.

Kenya: Overseas Aid

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much financial aid the Government have provided to support projects in Kenya in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: Full details of UK aid expenditure by country are contained in the Department for International Development's (DFID) publication 'Statistics on International Development'. This publication is available from the Library and online at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk
	Relevant figures are reproduced in the following table.
	
		
			  UK bilateral gross public expenditure (GPEX) and UK imputed multilateral share to Kenya, 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			  000 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Bilateral GPEX 28,647 37,824 65,486 67,054 52,135 
			 UK imputed multilateral share 11,601 27,179 13,033 24,032 34,433

Kosovo: Education

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate he has made of the percentage of  (a) children and  (b) girls enrolled in (i) primary, (ii) secondary and (iii) tertiary education in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The table provides the most recent World Bank data on net enrolment rates in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Kosovo for the year 2005-06.
	
		
			   Percentage of all children  Percentage of girls 
			 Primary 87.7 87 
			 Secondary 74 66.4 
			 Tertiary 17.7 15.2

Kosovo: Electricity

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the availability and standard of supply of  (a) electricity and  (b) water in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The most recent data available are provided by the World Bank from the year 2005-06 and show that 97.9 per cent. of the population in Kosovo has access to electricity. Data on overall access to water are not collected.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Churches: Aerials

Caroline Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners whether the Church Commissioners have a policy on mobile phone masts  (a) on church property and  (b) inside church spires.

Stuart Bell: The decision to host mobile phone telecommunication equipment on a church spire is a matter for the relevant parochial church council. Any installation would be subject to the requisite secular and ecclesiastical permissions being obtained, following public consultation, and each case is decided on its own merits.
	As for property owned by the Commissioners, standard form leases are offered to telecom operators for masts on properties in the Commissioners' rural portfolio.
	In the rest of the Commissioners' portfolio there are only a very small number of masts and these installations are dealt with case by case.

Churches: Water Charges

Caroline Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how many churches in each diocese have reported an increase in their water bills as a result of the new surface water charges.

Stuart Bell: Water charges are the responsibility of the Parochial Church Council of the particular church and such data are not held centrally.
	However, as churches were previously exempt from water rates, in areas where surface water and highways charges have begun to be phased in, all those with connections to the public drains face increases. In many cases these will be substantial, with annual increases ranging from a few hundred pounds for a small church to several thousand pounds for large churches. If applied nationally, this would result in estimated charges of 5 million for surface water drainage and 10 million for highways drainage.

SCOTLAND

Demos

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department has any contracts with the think-tank Demos.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office has no contracts with the think-tank Demos.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what training courses have been attended by special advisers in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Ann McKechin: Special advisers receive training as appropriate to enable them to fulfil their duties and responsibilities as set out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers. In the last 12 months, no training courses have been attended and no costs have been incurred.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Catering Staff: Pay

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission 
	(1)  when the House's catering staff will receive their increases in pay arising from their pay settlement effective in April 2008;
	(2)  what settlement was reached in respect of pay for catering staff of the House for 2008-09.

Nick Harvey: The pay settlement for catering and retail staff for 2008-09 has yet to be agreed. However, the trade unions representing catering staff (GMB and PCS) have agreed to recommend acceptance of an improved offer made by management for a three-year pay settlement. The unions are balloting their members on management's revised offer and if both unions' members accept, staff will receive their pay increases and arrears with their July salaries.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Housing

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the service family accommodation rented by his Department from  (a) councils and  (b) registered social landlords by standard of condition.

Kevan Jones: No service family accommodation is rented from councils or registered social landlords.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training courses have been attended by special advisers in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Bob Ainsworth: Special advisers receive training as appropriate to enable them to fulfil their duties and responsibilities as set out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers. The only training undertaken by the MOD special advisers in the last 12 months has been theatre pre-deployment training. This in-house training includes the mandatory briefings on safety and security and survival, evasion, resistance and extraction prior to visiting operational theatres.

EU Battlegroups

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what stage the EU Battlegroup roster has reached.

Bob Ainsworth: The current EU Battlegroup roster forecasts commitments to 2013, and is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  EU Battlegroup Roster 2009-13 
			  Semester( 1)  Contributing nations  Lead nation 
			 20091 Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece Italy 
			  Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus Greece 
			
			 20092 Czech Republic and Slovakia Czech Republic 
			  Belgium, France and Luxembourg Belgium 
			
			 20101 Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia Poland 
			  UK and Netherlands UK 
			
			 20102 Italy, Romania and Turkey Italy 
			  Spain, France and Portugal Spain 
			
			 20111 Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Austria, Lithuania Netherlands 
			  Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Ireland Sweden 
			
			 20112 Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus Greece 
			  Portugal, Spain, France and Italy or France alone Portugal or France 
			
			 20121 Vacant  
			  Vacant  
			
			 20122 Italy, Slovenia, Hungary Italy 
			  Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Germany 
			
			 20131 Poland, Germany, France Poland 
			  Vacant  
			
			 20132 UK and Sweden UK 
			  Belgium (TBC) Belgium (TBC) 
			 (1) 1 = January to June; 2 = July to December

Gurkhas

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the likely effects on levels of  (a) recruitment of Gurkhas and  (b) resettlement of former Gurkhas in the UK if his Department were to apply its policies on former UK service personnel to former Gurkha soldiers.

Kevan Jones: Since 2004, Gurkhas who served on or after 1 July 1997 have had the right to settle in the UK on discharge and the majority have done so. Some Gurkhas who retired before 1 July 1997 were given settlement under discretionary arrangements and the Government have recently extended these arrangements to include all those who retired before 1 July 1997 with four or more years service.
	There is no evidence that these changes will have any impact on the recruitment of Gurkhasrecruiting is now under way for the 2010 intake and the quality and quantity of applicants in Nepal is as high as ever. Levels of resettlement of former Gurkhas in the UK are expected to increase and further work is being undertaken across Government to assess what the effects of this might be. The MOD will continue to monitor these issues to ensure that force structures and operational effectiveness are sustained.

Gurkhas: Taxation

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) tax and  (b) other payments Gurkhas who retired before 1997 were required to make during their service to the Government; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: Before 1 July 1997 the Brigade of Gurkhas was based in the far east. Only those soldiers who came to the United Kingdom on a tour of duty and those commissioned through the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst paid tax.
	Other payments made from a Gurkha's pay may have included recovery of debts including military fines and forfeitures of pay, overpayments, debit balances, payment of civil fines and judgment debts.
	Voluntary payments may also have been made for allotments to family members in Nepal, savings and insurance schemes.

Members: Correspondence

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Orpington of 7 May 2009 to his Department on the Spitfire and Hurricane gate guardians at the entrance to St. George's Chapel, Biggin Hill.

Kevan Jones: I replied to the hon. Member on 15 June 2009, advising that I would write to him with a substantive reply within the next few weeks.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on research on reducing  (a) carbon dioxide,  (b) methane and  (c) nitrous oxide emissions from domestic agriculture in the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA's Farming and Food Science research programme in the period 2004-05 to 2008-09 has included a number of projects aimed at reducing carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions from domestic agriculture. Expenditure has been as follows:
	
		
			million 
			 2004-05 2 
			 2005-06 1.7 
			 2006-07 3.4 
			 2007-08 3.9 
			 2008-09 4.2

Agriculture: Waste Disposal

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the average cost to a farmer of constructing a winter slurry storage silo.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 15 June 2009
	We do not hold figures for the cost to individual farmers of constructing a winter slurry store. In any event, an average figure could be misleading owing to the different sizes of farm holdings. The Department can confirm that the estimated costs to the sector of constructing additional storage facilities to comply with the storage capacity requirement are between 12.8 million and 16.5 million per annum. This was outlined in the Department's Impact Assessment of proposals to revise the Nitrates Action Programme.

Animal Welfare

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will assess the effectiveness of the provisions of the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925 in ensuring the maintenance of animal welfare standards; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: As well as being covered by the 1925 Act, performing animals are protected by provisions laid down in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. We are currently in the process of reviewing the welfare standards of performing animals, and will consider the need for any further controls in due course.

Bees

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effects of the allocation of additional funding for research into bee colony collapse announced on 17 June 2008 on bee health; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 10 June 2009
	Analysis of the results of this research within the Food and Environment Research Agency's National Bee Unit shows that the most important risk factor in the mortality or weakening of colonies is Deformed Wing Virus, a virus transmitted by the parasitic Varroa mite, clearly indicating failed or unsuccessful treatments of mite infestations.
	This highlights the importance of improving standards of husbandry and is in agreement with results from earlier studies investigating abnormal colony losses in 2007. The impact of mite infestations was exacerbated by the unfavourable weather conditions over the last two years which did not allow colonies to prosper.
	The weather conditions experienced so far in 2009 have led to far fewer losses. A final report with the results from the investigations into abnormal colony losses will be published later this year.

Birds of Prey

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate his Department has made of the population of each species of bird of prey in the UK.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The population of most species is assessed periodically by species-specific surveys of breeding numbers. The frequency of surveys varies between species. The latest available results from these, together with the years of survey, are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Year of survey  Species  Population estimate (breeding or territorial pairs) 
			 2000 Honey Buzzard(1) 33-69 
			 2005 Marsh Harrier(2) 363-429 
			 2004 Hen Harrier(3) 749 
			 2006 Montagu's Harrier(4) 13-17 
			 1994-2000 Goshawk(5) 410 
			 2003 Golden Eagle(6) 442 
			 2006 Osprey(7) 147-161 
			 1990-94 Merlin(8) 1,330 
			 2002 Peregrine(9) 1,492 
			 2000 Hobby(10) 2,200 
			 2000 Sparrowhawk(11) 41,000 
			 2001 Buzzard(12) 44-61,000 
			 2000 Kestrel(13) 35,400 
			 2006 Red Kite(14) 1,200 
			 2006 White-tailed Eagle(15) 36 
			 (1) Batten, L.A. 2001. European Honey-buzzard Survey 2000 and 2001: preliminary results and request for further surveys. British Birds 94: 143-144. Ogilvie, M.A. 2003. European Honey-buzzards in the UK- correction to breeding totals. British Birds 96: 145. (2) Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2008. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2005. British Birds 101: 276-316. (3) Sim, I.M.W., Dillion, I.A., Eaton, M.A., Etheridge, B., Lindley, P., Riley, H., Saunders, R., Sharpe, C. and Tickner, M. 2007. Status of the Hen Harrier  Circus cyaneus in the UK and Isle of Man in 2004, and a comparison with the 1988-89 and 1998 surveys. Bird Study 54(2): 256-267. (4) Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2009. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2006. British Birds 102: 158-202. (5) Petty, S.J. 1996. History of the Northern Goshawk  Accipiter gentilis in Britain. In: Holmes, J.S. and Simons J.R. (eds), The introduction and naturalisation of birds. HMSO, London. Scott, D. 2001. Goshawk breeding in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Bird Report 1999:114-119. (6) Eaton, M.A., Dillon, I.A., Stirling-Aird, P.K. and Whitfield, D.P. 2007. The status of the Golden Eagle  Aquila chrysaetos in Britain in 2003. Bird Study 54: 212-220. (7) Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2009. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2006. British Birds 102: 158-202. (8) Rebecca, G. and Bainbridge, I.P. 1998. The breeding status of Merlin  Falco columbarius in Britain in 1993-94. Bird Study 45:172-187. RSPB/Irish Raptor Study Group data (from UK Raptor Working Group 2000). (9) Banks, A.N., Crick, H.Q.P., Coombes, R, Benn, S., Ratcliffe, D.A. and Humphreys, E. In press. The breeding status of the Peregrine Falcon  Falco peregrinus in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man in 2002. Bird Study. (10) Clements, R. 2001. The Hobby in Britain: a new population estimate. British Birds 94: 402-408. (11) Stone, B.H., Sears, J., Cranswick, PA, Gregory, R.D., Gibbons, D.W., Rehfisch, M.M., Aebischer, N.J. and Reid, J.B. 1997. Population estimates of birds in Britain and in the United Kingdom. British Birds 90: 1-22. Crick, H.Q.P., Marchant, J.H., Noble, D.G., Baillie, S.R., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. 2004. Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2003. BTO Research Report No. 353. BTO, Thetford. (12) Stone, B.H., Sears, J., Cranswick, P.A., Gregory, R.D., Gibbons, D.W., Rehfisch, M.M., Aebischer, N.J. and Reid, J.B. 1997. Population estimates of birds in Britain and in the United Kingdom. British Birds 90: 1-22. Crick, H.Q.P., Marchant, J.H., Noble, D.G., Baillie, S.R., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. 2004. Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2003. BTO Research Report No. 353. BTO, Thetford. (13) Stone, B.H., Sears, J., Cranswick, PA, Gregory, R.D., Gibbons, D.W., Rehfisch, M.M., Aebischer, N.J. and Reid, J.B. 1997. Population estimates of birds in Britain and in the United Kingdom. British Birds 90: 1-22. Crick, H.Q.P., Marchant, J.H., Noble, D.G., Baillie, S.R., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. 2004. Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2003. BTO Research Report No. 353. BTO, Thetford. (14) Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2009. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2006. British Birds 102: 158-202. (15) Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2009. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2006. British Birds 102: 158-202.

Environment Protection: British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has allocated to the Overseas Territories Environment Programme in each of the last five years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) is jointly funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development. DEFRA sits on the assessment panel that considers which projects OTEP should support, but DEFRA does not provide funding to OTEP.

Fisheries

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the percentage change in levels of  (a) tuna and  (b) cod stocks in UK waters in each year since 1997.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Tuna stocks are distributed throughout the Atlantic. No stocks of tuna are found exclusively within UK waters. Only a small percentage of the distribution of the northern albacore and the east Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna stocks are located within UK watersto the west of Scotland and in the Celtic sea.
	Tuna stocks are assessed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). ICCAT have not published absolute values for the stock biomass so that comparisons with historic estimates cannot be made. However, ICCAT does classify stock biomass levels relative to internationally agreed sustainable targets for biomass (BMSYbiomass at maximum sustainable yield) and exploitation rate (FMSYfishing mortality at maximum sustainable yield).
	For Northern albacore tuna, the most recent ICCAT assessment of stock status for northern albacore tuna was conducted in 2007(1). ICCAT considers that spawning stock size in 2005 was about one quarter of the peak levels estimated for the late 1940s. The analysis indicated that in 2005 the stock has rebuilt to 20 per cent. below the biomass expected at the optimum level for exploitation, compared to 50 per cent. below in 2000.
	For East Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna, the most recent ICCAT assessment of stock status for the east Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna stock was conducted in 2008(2). Analysis indicates that recent (2003-07) spawning biomass is less than 40 per cent. of the highest estimated levels.
	Cod stocks are distributed throughout the North East Atlantic in the waters that surround the UK. No stocks of cod are found exclusively within UK waters. The stocks are considered separate biological units and are usually referred to by geographic region; North sea Skagerrak and eastern English channel, West of Scotland, Rockall, Irish sea, Celtic sea and western English channel.
	Cod stocks are assessed annually by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The most recent ICES advice was issued in 2008. For each cod stock the change in the level of spawning biomass in each year since 1997 is presented in table 1:
	(1) http://www.iccat.int/Documents/SCRS/ExecSum/ALB_EN.pdf
	(2 )http://www.iccat.int/Documents/SCRS/ExecSum/BFT_EN.pdf
	
		
			  Table 1: The percentage change in spawning stock biomass for the North sea Skagerrak and eastern English cha n nel, West of Scotland, Irish sea, Celtic sea and western English channel cod stocks in each year after 1997 
			  Percentage 
			   North sea( 1)  West of Scotland( 2)  Irish sea( 3)  Celtic sea( 4) 
			 1997 -12 -20 -2 -11 
			 1998 -16 -15 -14 -13 
			 1999 -5 -1 2 -13 
			 2000 -33 -13 -58 -33 
			 2001 -22 -11 57 9 
			 2002 21 -14 89 33 
			 2003 -7 -15 -29 -13 
			 2004 -10 -20 -3 -42 
			 2005 -8 -27 -34 -19 
			 2006 -6 -2 -2 13 
			 2007 19 68 -47 35 
			 2008 35 19 16 16 
			 (1) http://www.ices.dk/committe/acom/comwork/report/2008/2008/cod-347d.pdf (2) http://www.ices.dk/committe/acom/comwork/report/2008/2008/cod-scow.pdf (3) http://www.ices.dk/committe/acom/comwork/report/2008/2008/cod-iris.pdf (4) http://www.ices.dk/committe/acom/comwork/report/2008/2008/cod-7e-k.pdf  Notes:  1. The cod stocks were considered at a low level relative to optimum in 1997. 2. For Rockall cod the available information is inadequate to evaluate stock trends.

Fisheries: Finance

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department has allocated for the support of fishermen in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point in each year since 1997.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Data on the bids and allocations for support to fishermen are not held in a form that is easily accessible and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Some examples of work carried out by DEFRA in Essex and Castle Point in 2008-09 include the Environmentally Responsible Fishing Pilot Scheme, and funding for decommissioning of some 'under 10 metre vessels'.
	Since 2000, we have allocated over 170 million of funding to the fishing industry in the UK as a whole(1). This has consisted of structural funds, including the FIFG (Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance) and European Fisheries Fund (EFF), and a range of national schemes to help support development and sustainability of the UK fishing fleet.
	Some 67 million(2) (including national match funding) is now available under the EFF, for projects in England. As part of this, during the past year, we have announced a package of support measures for the industry, amounting to around 5 million(3) worth of funding.
	(1) Figures provided by Marine and Fisheries Agency.
	(2) Ibid.
	(3) Ibid.

Forestry Commission

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) postal address and  (b) budget for 2009-10 of each Forestry Commission regional advisory committee is.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Forestry Commission's nine regional advisory committees can be contacted through the Commission's regional offices.
	 North West England Office
	Forestry Commission
	Peil Wyke
	Bassenthwaite Lake
	Cockermouth
	Cumbria
	CA13 9YG
	 North East England Office
	Forestry Commission
	1, Walby Hill
	Rothbury
	Morpeth
	Northumberland
	NE65 7NT
	 Yorkshire and The Humber Office
	Forestry Commission
	Wheldrake Lane
	Crockey Hill
	York
	YO19 4FF
	 East Midlands Office
	Forestry Commission
	Edwinstow
	Mansfield
	Nottinghamshire
	NG21 9JL
	 West Midlands Office
	Forestry Commission
	Government Buildings
	Block B
	Whittington Road
	Worcester
	WR5 2FR
	 East England Office
	Forestry Commission
	Santon Downham
	Brandon
	Suffolk
	IP27 0TJ
	 South West England Office
	Forestry Commission
	Mamhead Castle
	Mamhead
	Nr Exeter
	Devon
	EX6 8HD
	 South East England Office
	Forestry Commission
	Alice Holt
	Wrecclesham
	Farnham
	Surrey
	GU10 4LF
	 London Office
	Forestry Commission
	Government Office for London
	Riverwalk House
	157-161 Millbank
	London
	SW1P 4RR
	The regional advisory committees do not have their own budgets. The chairs of the committees receive an annual payment, currently 2,545 per annum, and the members are unpaid. The chair and members receive reimbursement of expenses in accordance with Forestry Commission rules.

Livestock: Waste Disposal

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effects of the six-day rule for fallen livestock; and whether he plans to end the rule.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The six-day standstill rule applies only to movements of live animals, not to fallen livestock. Fallen livestock must be taken to or collected by an approved knacker, hunt kennel, incinerator or renderer, either by private arrangement, or under the National Fallen Stock Scheme, following the usual strict biosecurity protocols.
	Maintenance of the six-day standstill rule for the movement of live animals is essential in reducing the spread of livestock disease between the time of infection and the time the disease becomes evident. There are therefore no plans for its abolition.

National Parks: New Forest

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of recent representations by staff of the New Forest National Park Authority on the administration of the Park; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: On 8 June DEFRA's Permanent Secretary received an anonymous letter which made allegations about the management of the New Forest National Park. The issues outlined in the letter are matters for the National Park Authority to consider. However, DEFRA will be looking to the authority for reassurance that the issues raised in the letter are investigated and addressed, as appropriate.

Nature Conservation: Crime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many convictions for offences related to birds were made under Part 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in each of the last five years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for bird-related offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, in England and Wales, 2003 to 2007 (latest available figures) are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2003 33 
			 2004 64 
			 2005 38 
			 2006 103 
			 2007 28 
			  Source: Evidence and Analysis UnitOffice for Criminal Justice Reform, Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom bird-related offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.

Nature Conservation: Crime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's wildlife crime priorities are for 2009-10, with particular reference to species subject to illegal trade.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Government's wildlife crime priorities for 2009-10, agreed by senior Government and enforcement officers, are badger persecution, bat persecution, species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), freshwater pearl mussels, poaching, and raptor persecution.
	The CITES species issues currently being focused on are caviar, ivory, ramin timber, tortoises and traditional medicines.

Rodents

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will assess the effectiveness of the National Protocol for Cooperation on Rodent Control 2000 in meeting its objectives.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA has no plans to review the effectiveness of the National Protocol for Cooperation on Rodent Control 2000. The protocol provides a mechanism for improved communication and co-ordination between local authorities and sewerage undertakers on the control of rats in sewers.

Seas and Oceans: Environment Protection

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which species of flora and fauna will be considered as features that will be protected by the proposed network of Marine Conservation Zones.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 15 June 2009
	The Marine and Coastal Access Bill provides for the designation and protection of marine conservation zones (MCZs) to conserve rare and threatened species and representative habitats and species in English and Welsh territorial waters and UK offshore waters. All categories of flora and fauna can therefore be considered for protection within MCZs. MCZs, together with marine protected areas designated under existing legislation, will form an ecologically coherent network of sites. The features protected by this network will represent the range of features present in the UK marine area including seabirds.

Set-Aside Schemes

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Sir Don Curry on the introduction of a voluntary approach to set-aside.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Sir Don Curry and the High Level Set-Aside Group have been closely involved in considering how to re-capture the environmental benefits of set-aside. In his current advisory role to DEFRA, Sir Don Curry holds regular discussions with the Secretary of State and other Ministers, including in relation to the proposed voluntary approach to set-aside.

Special Areas of Conservation: Cumbria

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 1256-57W, on Special Areas of Conservation: Cumbria, what assessment his Department has made of the recent effect of peat extraction on the Bolton Fell Moss Site of Special Scientific Interest on the site's candidature for designation as a Special Area of Conservation.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Continued peat extraction over the longer term would have a negative impact on the nature conservation interests at Bolton Fell Moss. Natural England is currently in discussion with the company that owns the peat extraction rights over the measures needed to secure the future protection of the site, and it is hoped that an agreement on this will be reached in the next few months. Natural England's current assessment is that damage caused by peat extraction can be reversed and the nature conservation interest fully restored.

Trees

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department allocated for the preservation of trees in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire and  (b) the East of England in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: I have been asked to reply.
	Local planning authorities are responsible for making and administering tree preservation orders. Funding for this function is contained in the Revenue Support Grant and is not ring-fenced. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Turtles: Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what voluntary contributions have been made by the Government to fund projects which fall under the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Marine Turtles in the Indian Ocean and South East Asia in each year since its inception.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Since the UK signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South East Asia (IOSEA) in 2002, my Department has contributed 150,000 towards its implementation. Our funding has supported a number of projects, including 10,000 in 2003 for the enhancement of sea turtle conservation in Kenya, 30,000 in 2005 for a survey of leatherback turtle populations in the Indian Ocean and other IOSEA-related projects, and 10,000 in 2006 for the satellite tracking and genetic study of turtles in the British Indian Ocean Territory and Indian Ocean.
	A further 15,000 will be paid later this year towards the running costs of the MoU's Secretariat.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Renewable Energy: Pembrokeshire

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made on the Wave Dragon project off the coast of Milford Haven; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: An application under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to construct and operate a 7MW offshore wave device, known as 'Wave Dragon', was made by Wave Dragon Wales Ltd on 26 April 2007 which is currently under consideration, pending further information from the application. It is departmental policy not to comment on the merits of applications under consideration, and a decision will be taken on the application in due course.

Warm Front Scheme

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many  (a) boilers and  (b) full central heating systems have been installed through the Warm Front Scheme in each of the last three years.

Joan Ruddock: The following tables detail the number of  (a) boilers and  (b) full central heating systems installed by Warm Front in each of the last three scheme years and the current year to date.
	
		
			  (a) Boilers 
			   2006-2007  2007-2008  2008-2009  2009-2010 (to end May 2009) 
			 Boiler Replacements 53,436 75,600 80,458 15,072 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Central Heating 
			   2006-2007  2007-2008  2008-2009  2009-2010 (to end May 2009) 
			 Central heating systems 30,549 28,779 23,466 5841

WORK AND PENSIONS

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much expenditure was incurred by her Department in respect of the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Jonathan R Shaw: For information relating to the Cabinet and public engagement event held in Glasgow on 16 April, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 3 June 2009,  Official Report, column 487W.

Carer's Allowance: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are in receipt of carer's allowance in  (a) Tameside and  (b) Stockport.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Carer's allowancecases in payment caseloads by local authority of claimant: November 2008 
			  Local authority  Number 
			 Stockport 2,190 
			 Tameside 2,030 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Caseload totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance and exclude people with entitlement but who do not actually receive carer's allowance, for example, because of the overlapping benefits rule.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Cold Weather Payments

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will assess the appropriateness of the threshold for cold weather payments in respect of those diagnosed with certain medical conditions or taking certain medications whose conditions may be exacerbated by cold weather conditions.

Jonathan R Shaw: Cold weather payments help vulnerable groups on low incomes with the extra heating costs which result from periods of very cold weather that last, or are forecast to last, for seven days.
	They are paid to people awarded pension credit or income-related employment and support allowance that includes a work-related activity or support component when the temperature criteria is met for their area. Those awarded income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or income-related employment and support allowance in the assessment phase, and who have a pensioner or disability premium or have a child who is disabled or under the age of five are also eligible to receive payments.
	There are no plans at the present time to change the qualifying criteria for cold weather payments.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the budget under each budget sub-heading is of each of her Department's employment programmes for  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 May 2009
	The following table shows the budgets for the Department of Work and Pensions employment programmes, by sub-heading, for 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	
		
			  Budgets (to nearest  million) 
			  Programme  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Support for long-term unemployed 845 1,214 
			 Additional support at six months 145 216 
			 Young persons guarantee and future jobs fund 250 838 
			 Lone parents and families 34 63 
			 Support for disabled people 533 567 
			 Other employment programmes 184 202 
			 Totals 1,991 3,100

Disability Living Allowance: Sight Impaired

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in  (a) Forest of Dean constituency and  (b) Gloucestershire who receive disability living allowance gave a visual impairment as the primary reason for claiming that allowance; and if she will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 1 June 2009
	The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Disability living allowance cases in payment where blindness is recorded as the main disabling condition: November 2008 
			   Number 
			 Forest of Dean parliamentary constituency 80 
			 Gloucestershire 510 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 3. A diagnosed medical condition does not mean that someone is automatically entitled to disability living allowance. Entitlement is dependent on an assessment of how much help someone needs with personal care and/or mobility because of their disability. These statistics are only collected for administrative purposes. 
			 4. From October 2008 the way in which disabling condition is recorded on the live system changed. Disabling conditions are now recorded as primary and secondary, (previously recorded as disability care and mobility codes). For existing cases a mapping exercise was carried out which assigned disability care code to primary disabling condition and disability mobility code to secondary condition. Information Directorate has updated the methodology used to derive main disabling condition to reflect this change in the live system. The old category D08 (blindness) is now subdivided into a range of more specific condition codes. These are referred to by the over-arching title 'Visual Disorder'. 5. The preferred data source for benefit statistics is 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. However, the 5 per cent. sample data are generally the preferred source for analysis on disabling condition as information is more complete for disabling condition on the 5 per cent. sample (Some recipients of disability living allowance who transferred from the attendance allowance system may not have been allocated a specific disabling condition code. This problem can be corrected on the sample data but not on the WPLS data. The number of cases affected is decreasing over time). In this case the WPLS data have been used as some of the caseload figures produced are very small and so would have a high level of statistical variation should the sample data have been used.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Economic and Monetary Union

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what activities have been undertaken by her Department's Euro Minister in that capacity.

Jonathan R Shaw: Euro Ministers are responsible for euro preparations in their Department and attend Euro Ministers steering group meetings. Meetings are held only when necessary to discuss practical preparations to ensure a smooth changeover.

Employment

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each age group have been placed in employment by Jobcentre Plus in the last six months.

Jim Knight: holding answer 8 June 2009
	The available information is in the following table:
	
		
			  Job seekers a llowanceoff flows into work for the last six monthsGreat Britain 
			
			  Aged:  November 2008  December 2008  January 2009  February 2009  March 2009  April 2009 
			 under 17 15 25 10 25 30 40 
			 17 185 145 60 135 140 165 
			 18 4,775 3,585 1,480 2,825 2,880 3,315 
			 19 4,865 3,765 1,725 3,550 3,830 4,295 
			 20-24 23,295 17,825 8,865 19,580 19,760 21,535 
			 25-29 14,310 10,970 6,225 15,220 14,790 15,815 
			 30-34 9,900 7,390 4,560 11,165 10,615 10,975 
			 35-39 9,385 7,350 4,675 10,870 10,375 10,845 
			 40-44 9,395 7,285 4,875 11,235 10,675 11,245 
			 45-49 9,015 6,915 4,575 10,435 9,820 10,425 
			 50-54 7,485 5,685 3,755 8,370 8,065 8,390 
			 55-59 5,675 4,450 3,035 6,365 5,890 6,340 
			 60 and over 1,155 970 635 1,490 1,450 1,530 
			 Column total 99,440 76,380 44,470 101,255 98,310 104,920 
			  Notes: 1. The number of off-flows moving into employment include claimants who increased their employment hours beyond 16 per week. 2. This information is published on the Nomis website at: www.nomisweb.co.uk 3. The percentage of people leaving with an unknown destination recorded has increased over the last 10 years. This is because the completion levels of the JSA40 (forms filled in by people leaving JSA) have decreased over this period. This should be taken into account when interpreting these statistics, as many of these 'unknown' leavers will have moved into employment or other benefits. The data are not seasonally adjusted.  Source:  100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems.

Employment Schemes

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have completed a work trial placement in the last six months are in employment.

Jim Knight: holding answer 10 June 2009
	The information requested is not available.

Employment Schemes

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employers have  (a) received and  (b) accepted one or more applications for employment under the work trial scheme in each of the last six months.

Jim Knight: holding answer 12 June 2009
	The information requested is not available.

Employment Schemes: Finance

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the money allocated by her Department to assist people unemployed for six months, as announced on 12 January 2009, will be classified as  (a) Jobcentre Plus and  (b) employment programme spending for the purpose of her Department's three-year business plan.

Jim Knight: holding answer 4 June 2009
	In the Department's three-year business plan, the total allocation to assist people unemployed for six months as announced on 12 January 2009 is 430 million. Of this, 69 million is allocated to Jobcentre Plus and 361 million is allocated to employment programmes.

Future Jobs Fund

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much and what percentage of funding from the Future Jobs Fund has been allocated for jobs in culture, music and the creative industries.

Jim Knight: holding answer 1 June 2009
	Bidding criteria for the Future Jobs Fund were published on 13 May and are available on the Department for Work and Pensions website. The fund will operate as a challenge fund to which organisations can bid for funding to create new jobs. The fund will create 150,000 new jobs; 100,000 of these will contribute to a guaranteed offer of a job, training or meaningful activity for all young people who are approaching 12 months on jobseeker's allowance. As such, the funding is not allocated to individual sectors or industries. The Government would welcome bids from all industries, including the culture, media and creative industries.

Jobcentre Plus: Voluntary Organisations

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps she has taken to ensure that Jobcentre Plus staff are signposting people in urgent need of assistance to foodbanks and other community and charitable organisations which provide assistance for those in financial hardship.

Jim Knight: holding answer 8 June 2009
	Making sure people get the help they need is at the heart of Jobcentre Plus business. A key part of this involves working closely with local partner organisations and signposting people to appropriate sources of help, including charitable organisations and others that provide support services for people experiencing financial hardship.
	As part of this Jobcentre Plus is currently developing an additional process for signposting Social Fund customers, who have been refused a crisis loan for living expenses, to relevant local organisations that are willing to provide assistance. To facilitate this process, Jobcentre Plus is identifying and collating details of these organisations to make sure Jobcentre Plus officers are able to signpost people to appropriate sources of help.

New Deal Schemes

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what contingency plans her Department has in place for a commencement date for the Flexible New Deal after October 2009; what the latest date is upon which a decision to invoke such plans could be made in order to prevent disruption in service delivery; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many of the preferred bidders for Flexible New Deal contracts have requested that the delivery timetable be changed to effect delivery start dates after October 2009.

Jim Knight: holding answer 1 June 2009
	The Government remain committed to bringing in the Flexible New Deal phase 1 from October 2009. None of the bids received from shortlisted suppliers in the Flexible New Deal competition have indicated they could not start up by the expected date.
	If a provider is unable to start delivery in October, suitable contingency arrangements will be agreed for each Jobcentre Plus district involved. Customers will continue to receive support from Jobcentre Plus and have access to the additional support at six months, until the provider is ready to accept referrals. The timing of decisions to invoke contingency arrangements would vary according to individual circumstances, but all phase 1 contract areas will be kept under continuous review before launch to ensure that any required action is identified at the earliest opportunity.

New Deal Schemes

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements her Department has made to compensate unsuccessful bidders for Flexible New Deal phase 1 contracts for the costs of the preparations for delivery of the contract from October 2009 they have incurred in advance of the successful bidders being notified; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 8 June 2009
	Consistent with Office of Government Commerce guidelines, the Department has made it quite clear in the Flexible New Deal Invitation to Tender documentation that it does not compensate either successful or unsuccessful bidders for any costs incurred with the preparation or submission of bids.

Woolworths: Redundancy

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department is taking to ensure that former Woolworth employees are helped back into work.

Jim Knight: holding answer 11 June 2009
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about what steps are being taken to ensure that former Woolworth employees are helped back into work. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Staff in almost all of Woolworths' 800 stores were offered support through our Rapid Response Service before the stores closed. This support included:
	job search information, advice and guidance, supplemented by a comprehensive job kit, which covers, for example, how to find work, CV writing and interview preparation;
	one to one and group advice on jobs available in the local labour market and on training opportunities to equip them to compete in sectors that are recruiting; and
	practical advice on the benefits available while looking for alternative work, which included the issue of over 8,000 clerical claim packs to speed-up the claims process.
	For those who claimed Jobseeker's Allowance, a new jobseeker interview was undertaken with an adviser to discuss and agree some realistic and achievable job goals and jobsearch activities that offered the best chance of success. As part of this, the adviser provided information about access to jobs and a range of recently enhanced opportunities to help improve job prospects and overcome things that may be making it harder to find work. This includes:
	jobsearch support for people who are ready for work, but lack recent experience of current jobsearch channels and methods of recruitment;
	similar support for customers with a professional or executive background, but provided by a specialist organisation offering expertise in white collar recruitment;
	extra help for those people who need more intensive jobsearch support, for example individually tailored help with CVs, interview skills and job applications; and access to resources such as stationery and the Internet;
	skills screening and access to provision where appropriate;
	extra help through Personal Adviser caseloading for customers who are particularly disadvantaged in the labour market and unlikely to find work without more intensive support;
	discretionary funding to help overcome immediate barriers to work;
	access to vacancies made available through local employment partnerships;
	help to pay costs for travelling to interviews; and
	extra help for people with a health problem or disability, for example Access to Work, Work Step, Work Preparation and Job Introduction Scheme
	Following the new jobseeker interview, ongoing support is provided through fortnightly jobsearch reviews, which are used to discuss what the customer is doing to find work and to see what further help, if any, is needed.
	Even in the current economic climate, over three quarters of people leave Jobseeker's Allowance within six months. For those who do not, we provide more help through the recently announced six-month offer, which includes regular and frequent contact with a personal adviser to help plan and follow-though a course of action that will increase the chances of finding and keeping work. As part of this, the customer has access to a range of employment-related opportunities, including a job subsidy, help for those wishing to become self-employed, volunteering placements and full-time training.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

1 Carlton Gardens

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions the function rooms in 1 Carlton Gardens have been used for  (a) drinks receptions and  (b) dinners since July 2007.

Chris Bryant: Since July 2007 the function rooms in 1 Carlton Gardens have been used for 26 dinners and 14 drinks receptions.

British Overseas Territories: Nature Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 May 2009,  Official Report, column 505W, on British Overseas Territories: nature conservation, which projects in the British Overseas Territories have been in receipt of the funding granted since 2006.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
	The following Main-Round Darwin projects have been granted funding under the Darwin Initiative since 2006:
	a cross-Caribbean Overseas-Territories project, starting in 2009, aiming at building civil-society capacity for conservation in the Caribbean UK Overseas Territories. The UK institution running this project is the Commonwealth Foundation, and total funding commitment amounts to 262,755;
	a project in Tristan da Cunha, starting in 2007, aiming to enable the people of Tristan to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity in the marine environment. This is being carried out by the RSPB, and amounts to 75,971; and
	a project in Montserrat to reduce the impact of feral livestock in and around the Centre Hills. This project is being carried out by the RSPB, and amounts to 144,236.
	The following Scoping Project awards have been granted in the current round:
	a project in the Falkland Islands aiming at scoping the development of conservation strategies for Falkland Islands freshwater-fish biodiversity. The project is being led by the University of Wales, and will amount to 2,962;
	a project in St Helena scoping work in St Helena's Millennium Forest, taking account of conservation, evolution and a changing climate. This is being led by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and will amount to 3,000;
	a project in Bermuda to assess and conserve critical pollinator communities in Bermuda. This is being led by the University of Leeds, and will amount to 2,200; and
	a project in the Falkland Islands to scope the development of a biodiversity and conservation inventory in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. This is being led by the Wales Environment Research Hub, and will amount to 3,000.

British Overseas Territories: Young Offenders

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many of the personal records held on the Overseas Territories Regional Crime Intelligence System relate to persons aged 16 years and under;
	(2)  whether records of DNA profiles are held on the Overseas Territories Regional Crime Intelligence System.

Chris Bryant: The Overseas Territories Regional Criminal Intelligence System (OTRCIS) is a networked computer system set-up in 1996 at the office of the Overseas Territories Law Enforcement Adviser, British Consulate General, Miami. OTRCIS provides the police, customs and immigration departments of the UK's Caribbean Overseas Territories with a crime intelligence and information analysis secure data system. Similar systems are used by the US Military, US State Law Enforcement Agencies, UK, Australian and European local and national law enforcement agencies. There are 1,406,891 records stored on the Overseas Territories Regional Crime Intelligence System.
	The number of records on the Overseas Territories Regional Criminal Intelligence System that relate to persons aged 16 and under is 2,578.
	There are no records of DNA profiles held on the Overseas Territories Regional Criminal Intelligence System.

Departmental Surveys

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department last commissioned a staff survey; and which organisation was engaged to conduct that survey.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office last commissioned a staff survey in 2008. The period during which the survey was available for staff to respond to was 24 November to 12 December 2008.
	ORC International were contracted to conduct the survey.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether power generation from renewable energy sources has been trialled in Gibraltar.

Chris Bryant: This is a matter for the Government of Gibraltar. The request for information may be directed to the Government of Gibraltar office in London in the first instance.

Kosovo

Robert Wareing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of  (a) Orthodox churches in Kosovo which have been destroyed or damaged since the entry of the NATO Kosovo Force into that country,  (b) perpetrators which have been arrested and  (c) convictions of persons held responsible.

Chris Bryant: Records produced by the Serbian Orthodox Church, compiled using information from UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) reports from the time, show that 76 Orthodox churches were destroyed or damaged during the conflict in 1999, and 30 during riots in March 2004. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and UNMIK estimate that, since 1999, a total of 155 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries, 250 cemeteries, and approximately 6,750 gravestones have been destroyed or damaged.
	Exact figures for the number of perpetrators arrested for acts committed in 1999 are not available, as all damage was recorded as common crime. According to the UNMIK Department of Justice and the Kosovo Judicial Council, during the period December 2005 to March 2006 local prosecutors brought charges against 206 defendants for the destruction of churches in 2004. Of these, 150 were convicted in either municipal or district courts. Separately, international judges and prosecutors handled seven cases relating to destruction of churches in 2004, involving 18 defendants. Of these, 17 were convicted and one acquitted, with sentences ranging from 21 months to 16 years.

Lord Davies of Abersoch

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of Lord Davies of Abersoch's time devoted to ministerial duties is spent on matters relating to his Department.

Chris Bryant: Lord Davies of Abersoch is the Minister for Trade, Investment and Business. He is a Minister for both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Lord Davies is responsible for: UK Trade and Investment (reporting jointly to my noble Friend the Business Secretary and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary); advising the Secretary of State and the Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills (Pat McFadden) on overall business policy; working on specific business issues alongside the Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform (Ian Lucas); the work of the Exports Credits Guarantee Department; Public Service Reform; trade policy; and Europe.
	Lord Davies meets regularly with the Foreign Secretary, the ministerial team and the FCO Permanent Under-Secretary, as well as travelling extensively around the overseas network. With such a wide remit it is impossible to apportion the time the Minister spends attending to the work of one Department or another; this is dictated by the priorities of the business of any given day.

Lord Davies of Abersoch

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Lord Davies of Abersoch has an office in his Department.

Chris Bryant: Lord Davies of Abersoch does not have a designated office in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Olympic Games 2012

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many full-time equivalent members of staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) its associated public bodies are working on projects relating to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games; how many of them are working on (i) project management, (ii) legacy planning, (iii) project oversight and (iv) financial oversight; and what plans he has for future staffing levels in each case.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently has seven full-time equivalent members of staff based in the UK working on projects related to the London 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games. Of these, project management accounts for four and a half full-time equivalent posts. Legacy planning, project oversight and financial oversight jointly account for the remainder. A small number of full-time equivalent staff overseas will be working on a UK 2012 Public Diplomacy Campaign from this autumn.
	The FCO envisages that by 2012, a full team of staff will be working on London 2012 projects including security, protocol, and public diplomacy. However it is difficult to predict at this stage how many staff might be involved in this work.
	The British Council currently has 19 full-time equivalent members of staff working on projects related to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. Of these, project management accounts for 13 full-time posts, all of which are overseas. Legacy planning, project oversight and financial oversight jointly account for six full-time posts, all of which are in London. From 2009 to 2013, on existing programmes, the British Council will have a maximum of up to 20 full-time posts working on project management and six full-time posts working on legacy planning, project oversight and financial oversight.

Somalia: Armed Conflict

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of  (a) reports that Eritrea is arming and supporting Islamic insurgents within Somalia and  (b) Eritrea's observance of UN resolutions on Somalia.

Chris Bryant: holding answer 15 June 2009
	We are concerned by reports that Eritrea has supplied weapons to insurgent groups in Somalia in contravention to UN Security Council Resolution 733 (1992) on Somalia.
	We believe that the issue should be dealt with through existing UN mechanisms and urge any evidence be presented to the UN Sanctions Committee. The UN Sanctions Monitoring Group is due to present its findings on this issue in the coming weeks.
	We continue to support the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia and deplore any attempts to disrupt the reconciliation process and undermine efforts towards peace and stability in the country.

Trade Promotion

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his Department's officials based in the UK work on trade promotion matters; and how many did so in 1997.

Chris Bryant: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff in the UK working on trade and investment are based in UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), a joint organisation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Currently 31 FCO civil servants are working in UKTI in offices in the UK. Two of these staff are on temporary short-term attachments.
	Neither the FCO nor UKTI hold data on workforce deployments in 1997.

TRANSPORT

Biofuels

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the Statement of 7 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1169, on biofuels, what representations he has made to the European Commission on the inclusion of the effects of indirect land use change in European sustainability criteria for biofuels.

Sadiq Khan: During the Renewable Energy Directive negotiations in 2008, the UK Government led the debate in Europe on the need to address the impacts of indirect land use change for biofuels. As per the statement of 15 December 2008,  Official Report, column 91WS, this resulted in the introduction of a requirement for the Commission to submit a report to the Council and the European Parliament on the impact of indirect land use change on greenhouse gas emissions by 31 December 2010, and where appropriate a proposal for a methodology for accounting for these. The UK Government are conducting research in this area to help inform the debate on what this methodology will look like.

Bus Services: Concessions

Bob Neill: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 28 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 1221-22W, on bus services: concessions, if he will place in the Library a copy of each written representation from local authorities expressing concern.

Sadiq Khan: I am not in a position to make correspondence from local authorities publicly available without seeking approval from them first. The authorities that have contacted the Department regarding concessionary travel funding are listed as follows. The hon. Member may wish to contact them directly to obtain a copy of their representation.
	Blackpool
	Bournemouth
	Burnley
	Cambridge
	Chesterfield
	Chichester
	Derby
	Eastbourne
	Erewash
	Exeter
	Fareham
	Fylde
	Harrogate
	Hastings
	Isle of Wight
	Lancashire county council
	Norwich
	Nottingham
	Oxford
	Peterborough
	Plymouth
	Scarborough
	Stafford
	Swindon
	Torbay
	Weymouth
	Worcester
	Worthing
	York

c2c

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2009,  Official Report, column 294W, on c2c, if he will  (a) agree and  (b) publish a timetable for re-letting the c2c franchise.

Chris Mole: The current London, Tilbury and Southend Franchise, operated by c2c, ends in May 2011. The Department for Transport's usual franchise replacement process takes between 18 and 24 months to complete. Initial work on the franchise specification will begin later this year and a timetable published when appropriate.

Cycling: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much funding his Department has allocated to encourage bicycle usage in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point in each of the last five years.

Sadiq Khan: Funding provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) to local transport authorities is not generally ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities. Figures are not available at constituency level.
	The Department provides integrated transport block and highways maintenance funding to local transport authorities to support capital investment in transport, which may be used for a range of purposes as the authorities see fit. Allocations provided to Essex since 2004-05 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Allocation ( million) 
			 2008-09 33,638 
			 2007-08 34,946 
			 2006-07 30,009 
			 2005-06 31,888 
			 2004-05 26,876 
		
	
	In addition the DfT has provided the following funding for Links to School in Essex:
	
		
			
			 2005-06 235,000 
			 2006-07 277,000 
			 2007-08 76,000 
			 2008-09 195,000 
		
	
	We have also provided the following cycle training grants to Essex but it is for the local authority to determine which schools the funding is allocated to:
	
		
			
			 2008-09 10,000 
			 2009-10 26,000

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls

Howard Stoate: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many residents of  (a) Dartford and  (b) Thurrock have submitted successful applications to the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing Local Resident Scheme to date.

Sadiq Khan: There have been 9,156 successful applications from Dartford residents and 8,908 from Thurrock residents.

Departmental Conditions of Employment

John Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2009,  Official Report, column 485W, on departmental conditions of employment, for what reasons the flexible benefits business plan is considered to be a confidential document.

Chris Mole: The proposed flexible benefits business plan is currently being developed and is an integral part of a protective marked document, which contains sensitive information that could be prejudicial to the interests of the Department for Transport if it was released.

Departmental Travel

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many journeys officials from his Department have made in vehicles provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency using B5 biodiesel in the last 12 months.

Paul Clark: The Government Car and Despatch Agency does not record whether diesel purchased for use in the one diesel car it allocated to the Department for Transport during 2008-09 was biodiesel blend or ordinary low sulphur diesel. Furthermore, the Agency does not record individual journey details of allocated vehicles. This information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Fisheries

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 8 June 2009,  Official Report, column 706W, on fisheries; what recent guidance his Department has issued regarding stability criteria for small fishing vessels following the research commissioned by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is analysing the results of the research that it commissioned on stability criteria for small fishing vessels, and considering its practical applicability to fishing vessel operators.
	Following that, the MCA will give consideration to the issue of guidance in due course.

Heathrow Airport

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent representations he has received from representative business organisations on his decision on the consultation on adding capacity at Heathrow Airport; if he will review that decision for the purposes of taking account of those representations; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: Decisions on adding capacity at Heathrow airport were announced on 15 January following an extensive period of evaluation and widespread public consultation. The business community has generally supported expansion, recognising the economic benefits, although some business interests have since expressed different views. The Government's position remains unchanged.

Heathrow Airport

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 26 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 572-3W, on Heathrow airport, what the conclusions of the environmental assessment programme were on the likelihood of meeting the  (a) noise and  (b) air quality limits if Heathrow was expanded.

Paul Clark: As explained in the answer of 26 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 572-3W, the conclusions of the environmental assessment programme were as set out in the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation document published in November 2007, namely that Heathrow could be expanded within the noise and air quality limits at the indicated levels of traffic.

Heathrow Airport

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 1 June 2009,  Official Report, column 14W, on Heathrow Airport, for what reasons he decided not to place in the Library a copy of the letter from Colin Matthews of BAA on the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport.

Paul Clark: As stated in the answer of 1 June 2009,  Official Report, column 14W, the content of the letter from Colin Matthews of BAA dated 28 November was widely reported in the media at the time and is covered, in full, in a press release titled Heathrow Airport puts environmental limits before new flights which can be accessed in the 'News Releases' section of:
	www.heathrowairport.com

Humber Bridge: Tolls

Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when the Secretary of State plans to respond to the report of the planning inspectors on the proposed increase of the Humber Bridge toll; and if he will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: We are considering the inspectors' report following the public inquiry on the Humber Bridge Board's toll review application and a decision will be made as soon as possible.

London Gateway Port: Expenditure

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much has been allocated by London Gateway Port to finance improvements to the  (a) local and  (b) strategic road network in the area.

Paul Clark: holding answer 15 June 2009
	 Improvements to the local and strategic road networks are required as planning conditions for London Gateway. The allocation of finance by London Gateway Port for the road network improvements is a matter for the port company.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  how much his Department has spent on  (a) programmes aimed at reducing levels of uninsured driving and  (b) establishing a system of continuous insurance enforcement in each year since 2004;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on the report it commissioned from Professor David Greenaway on uninsured driving in the UK.

Paul Clark: Programmes aimed at reducing levels of uninsured driving have included the Greenaway report of 2004; legislation in the Serious Organised Crime Act 2005 to give the police enhanced access to the Motor Insurance Database together with powers to seize vehicles found in use uninsured on the road; and, preparation for the proposed initiative to introduce Continuous Insurance Enforcement from comparison of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) vehicles database and the Motor Insurance Database.
	The approximate costs are as follows:
	
		
			   
			 2004-05 40,000 
			 2005-06 20,000 
			 2006-07 20,000 
			 2007-08 20,000 
			 2008-09 1,020,000 
		
	
	The 2004-05 figure includes the approximate cost of the Greenaway study, at 20,000, and the 2008-09 figure includes 1 million for the DVLA to begin to produce the detailed business case for the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) project.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the amount uninsured drivers have cost  (a) motorists with insurance and  (b) the insurance industry in each year since 2004.

Paul Clark: No official estimates are made.
	However, the motor insurance industry estimates that the cost to the average motorist of accidents involving uninsured and untraced drivers is of the order of 30 per year on the premium paid.
	The cost to the motor insurance industry can be indicated by the levy made each year by the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) on its members, that is, on all organisations in Great Britain offering motor insurance cover. The levy covers the cost of compensation paid by the MIB to the victims of accidents involving uninsured or untraced drivers. The MIB levy reached the following levels:
	
		
			million 
			 2004 275 
			 2005 325 
			 2006 360 
			 2007 388 
			 2008 377 
		
	
	However, the MIB levy takes no account of payments made by insurers in circumstances where, although strictly no insurance cover could be held to be in place, the insurer accepts an obligation to pay. Overall, such payments are estimated to bring the overall cost figure to around 500 million per annum.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he expects continuous insurance enforcement to be introduced across all insured vehicles.

Paul Clark: Delivery of the continuous insurance enforcement (CIE) scheme is planned to commence in 2010-11 starting with an initial publicity campaign to raise public awareness.

Motorcycles: Accidents

Bob Russell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent representations he has received on measures to reduce the number of young people killed or seriously injured while riding mopeds; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: A recent report by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) addressed moped casualties. The Government's Motorcycling Strategy sets out a range of measures to improve the safety of all powered two wheeler users, including young moped riders. It was published in February 2005 and a revised action plan was issued in June 2008. This includes THINK! publicity for powered two wheeler and other road users, improvements to rider training, a safer road environment and safer vehicles and equipment.

Public Transport: Recreational Spaces

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much funding his Department allocated for transport connections to nature parks in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point in each of the last five years.

Sadiq Khan: Funding provided by the Department for Transport to local transport authorities is not generally ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities. Figures are not available at constituency level.
	The Department provides integrated transport block and highways maintenance funding to local transport authorities to support capital investment in transport, which may be used for a range of purposes as the authorities see fit. Allocations provided to Essex since 2004-05 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Allocation  (  million ) 
			 2008-09 33,638 
			 2007-08 34,946 
			 2006-07 30,009 
			 2005-06 31,888 
			 2004-05 26,876

Public Transport: Tickets

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Crosby (Mrs. Curtis-Thomas) of 3 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 1135-6W, on public transport, what meetings his Department has had on the development of the consultation on an integrated ticketing strategy in England since the date of that Answer.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport has met a number of key stakeholders since 3 February 2009. These include the devolved Administrations, local transport authorities, the Local Government Association, the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers, independent transport consultants, ticket machine and smart ticketing manufacturers, credit card and payment companies, other Government Departments and a delegation from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Transport and Tourism. The Department has also presented the emerging findings of the strategy work at meetings of the Transport Card Forum and the Transport Group.

Public Transport: Tickets

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Crosby (Mrs. Curtis-Thomas) of 3 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 1135-6W, on public transport, when he expects the consultation paper on an integrated ticketing strategy for England to be published.

Sadiq Khan: The consultation paper will be published shortly, subject to gaining the necessary approvals for such a cross-cutting policy area.

Railway Stations: Stockport

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the level of accessibility of rail stations in Stockport; what plans he has to improve accessibility at these stations; and what estimate he has made of the cost of doing so.

Chris Mole: Improving access across the national network is a key objective of the Department for Transport, and a number of stations in the borough of Stockport are benefiting from investment under the Department's Access for All Programme. Stations have been selected based on usage, weighted by the incidence of disability in the area, as set out in the Railways for All Strategy.
	Cheadle Hulme and Marple stations have been identified to be provided with obstacle free routes to all platforms by 2011, and Hazel Grove has recently been completed. Network Rail estimate the investment required to deliver these projects at around 5.9 million.
	In addition, small schemes funding of 76,000 has been offered to projects with a total value of 329,000 at Brinnington, Gatley, Heald Green, Romily, and Davenport. This funding is providing access enhancements such as help points, hearing induction loops and customer information systems.
	Stockport station itself was upgraded by Network Rail in 2002, to provide level access to platforms and to comply with standards in the SRA publication Train and Station Services for Disabled Passengers: A Code of Practice.
	More information about station facilities at a local level is held by train operators and the Association of Train Operating Companies.

Railways

John Barrett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what account his Department takes of the effects on tax revenue of modal shifts when assessing the merits of expenditure on high speed rail.

Chris Mole: The account taken of changes in tax revenue from modal shift in the economic appraisal of all schemes, including high speed rail, is set out in the paper NATA RefreshAppraisal for a Sustainable Transport System published on the Department for Transport's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/archive/2008/consulnatarefresh/natarefresh2009.pdf
	Copies have also been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Railways

John Barrett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether his Department has conducted research on modal shifts arising from the introduction of high speed rail.

Chris Mole: We set up the company High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd. to help consider the case for new high speed services from London to Scotland. As part of this work, High Speed 2 will be considering international experience and assessing the scope for modal shift arising from the introduction of high speed rail.

Railways: Fares

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the average difference between the price of a walk-on train ticket and a ticket for the same journey purchased in advance.

Chris Mole: No estimate has been made. Many routes do not have advance purchase tickets and where they do they vary considerably in price and quota availability.

Railways: Fares

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of amending all rail franchises to reflect the assumption of an increase in unregulated fares of RPI plus one per cent. made in the new South Central franchise  (a) in January 2010 and  (b) on the renewal date of each franchise.

Chris Mole: Unregulated fares are a matter for individual train operating companies. Fares policy relating to unregulated fares has not been amended as a result of the South Central franchise replacement. In this case, the winner's bid is based on unregulated fares increasing on average by RPI +1 per cent. across the life of the franchise, but this is not a contractual commitment.
	The Department for Transport has not assessed the cost implications of limiting unregulated fare increases.

Railways: South East

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 9 June 2009,  Official Report, columns 32-34WS, on the South Central Franchise, what the cost to the public purse was of re-letting the franchise.

Chris Mole: The total costs of re-letting the South Central franchise are not yet finalised given that the agreement was only signed on 8 June and some additional costs are likely to be incurred during the mobilisation phase of the project.
	However, the external costs invoiced and paid by the Department for Transport to 11 June 2009 are 761,298.
	The new franchise will provide a premium to Government of 534 million over five years and 10 months.

Railways: Trees

David Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will instruct Network Rail to consult local residents and businesses when planning to undertake tree clearance work on railway embankments.

Chris Mole: This is an operational matter for Network Rail, whose first priority is to operate a safe and reliable railway. However, Network Rail's consultation procedures now involve more proactive local stakeholder consultation.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the likely economic effects on the transport industry of the amendment of the definition of relevant hydrocarbon oil used for the purposes of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

Sadiq Khan: It is currently very difficult to assess the economic impact the change in the definition of relevant hydrocarbon oil may have had on the transport industry. This is because the Renewable Fuels Agency, who collect and publish data on the supply of biofuels in the UK, will not have a complete dataset of the biofuel supplied for the reporting period 2008-09 (when the change was introduced) until later this year.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the likely effects of the amendment of the definition of relevant hydrocarbon oil used for the purposes of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation on progress towards his Department's renewable transport fuel targets.

Sadiq Khan: The definition of relevant hydrocarbon oil in the 2007 Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation order has now been amended so that the obligation applies to fuel suppliers as originally intended. The effect of the definition on the volume of biofuel supplied in the first obligation year (2008-09) will not be known until later this year. The Renewable Fuels Agency are expected to publish available data shortly.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many certificates issued under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme have been revoked owing to the  (a) detection of fraud and  (b) provision of inaccurate information to the Administrator of that scheme since the RTFO came into force.

Sadiq Khan: The number of certificates issued under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation scheme that have been revoked owing to the detection of fraud is zero. The number revoked due to the provision of inaccurate information to the Renewable Fuels Agency as administrator of the scheme is 66,668. This represents a mere 0.005724 per cent. of total certificates.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what plans he has to include greenhouse gas savings in the targets set out in the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

Sadiq Khan: Under the EU Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) suppliers of fuel will be required to achieve an overall 6 per cent. greenhouse gas (GHG) saving by 2020 for the fuel they supply compared against 2010 levels. We shall be consulting with stakeholders about how best to implement the FQD requirements into a UK scheme and we shall consider how targets for GHG savings for fuel suppliers might play a role.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what meetings his Department has had with outside organisations to prepare the UK's National Action Plan under the renewable transport fuel obligation.

Sadiq Khan: Following the Renewable Energy Directive being adopted in March 2009, officials at the Department for Transport established a stakeholder advisory group with representation from key industry and non-governmental organisations, as a platform for regular consultation on policy options arising from the implementation of this directive. This will include the preparation of the National Action Plan, once the Commission's adopts a template setting out reporting requirements by the end of June 2009.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of electric and hydrogen-fuelled cars towards the 2020 target for the renewable transport fuel obligation; and what methodology was used to make this assessment.

Sadiq Khan: Under the EU Renewable Energy Directive there is a specific target for the share of renewable energy use in UK transport by 2020. Following full public consultation, the Department for Energy and Climate Change are due to publish the Government's Renewable Energy Strategy this summer. This will include an assessment of the potential contribution that electric vehicles may have toward the transport target based on uptake scenarios from the recent Arup-Cenex study. Due to the uncertainty around hydrogen vehicle uptake by 2020 and the potential impact toward the transport target, these will not be assessed.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when the Government's National Action Plan required under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation will be published; and if he will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: Under the Renewable Energy Directive, the UK is required to submit a completed National Energy Action Plan to the European Commission by 30 June 2010 for their assessment. The Commission will then publish all member states' action plans in their website, alongside any recommendations arising from their assessment. Statements will be made in accordance with due parliamentary process, as and when required.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the likelihood of reaching the target for 3.25 per cent. of all road transport fuel to come from biofuels by 2009-10; and what recent steps he has taken to increase levels of sustainability of biofuels for use in vehicles.

Sadiq Khan: The likelihood of reaching an obligation level of 3.25 per cent. for the current obligation year will depend on a number of factors including the availability and cost of biofuels. The 20 pence per litre duty incentive for biofuels will remain until April 2010 and this is likely to continue to incentivise their use during this obligation year.
	Under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) suppliers of fuel are required to complete reports on the environmental performance of the biofuels they supply. Biofuels supplied under the first nine months of the RTFO achieved average greenhouse gas savings of 46 per cent. against the Government's indicative target of 40 per cent. The UK has also been instrumental in lobbying for mandatory biofuels sustainability standards across the European Union. These will come into force by December 2010, as a result of the recent EU Fuel Quality and Renewable Energy Directives.

Road Traffic

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps the Government is taking to address road congestion.

Chris Mole: For strategic roads, the Department for Transport delivers a wide range of measures to tackle congestion through the Highways Agency. On a day-to-day basis these include managing incidents and events more effectively with the Traffic Officer service, preventing incidents with queue warning systems, improving capacity, reducing delays from road works by safely increasing speed limits and delivering better information services to drivers to help them make better choices on how and when they travel.
	The current three-year reliability delivery plan is worth 1 billion. In addition, the Highways Agency is planning and undertaking major capital projects. A package of major capacity improvements worth up to 6 billion was announced on 15 January 2009. Investment is paying off with delays now lower than they were when congestion was first measured in 2004-05.
	For local roads, transport improvement priorities are determined locally with a sophisticated mix of measures to improve alternatives to car travel as well as general improvements to road capacity and traffic management. Schemes include bus lanes, traffic calming, cycle routes, pedestrian crossings, urban traffic control, park and ride, junction improvements, better information and work with employers and schools on travel plans to promote non-car travel. The Department provided 0.6 billion in 2008-09 for integrated transport improvements. For the 10 largest urban areas, the Department has put in place a congestion performance fund worth 60 million over four years to 2010-11.

Tyne and Wear Metro

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  how many passengers have travelled on the Tyne and Wear Metro in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how much capital funding his Department and its predecessors provided for Tyne and Wear Metro in each year since 1997.

Sadiq Khan: The number of passenger journeys on the Tyne and Wear Metro in each year since 1997 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of p assenger journeys (million) 
			 1997-98 35.0 
			 1998-99 33.8 
			 1999-00 32.7 
			 2000-01 32.5 
			 2001-02 33.4 
			 2002-03 36.6 
			 2003-04 37.9 
			 2004-05 36.8 
			 2005-06 35.8 
			 2006-07 37.9 
			 2007-08 39.8 
			 2008-09 40.6 
		
	
	Since April 1997 the Government have provided the following specific capital funding:
	
		
			   Purpose   million 
			 1999-2000 to 2003-04 Extension of the Metro to Sunderland 37.465 
			 2000-01 Metrocar refurbishment 0.46 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 Four Lane Ends Bus/Metro Interchange 7.62 
			 2000-01 CCTV provision 7.2 
		
	
	The Government have also supported investment in the Metro through local transport capital block funding provided to the Tyne and Wear local authorities and the Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus) though the Local Transport Plan (LTP) system and previous arrangements. The proportion of this funding spent on the Metro is a matter for the local LTP partners and information is not held centrally. Nexus has also received grants from the European Commission for Metro capital funding.
	In addition the Government have provided an annual subsidy for the Metro in every year since 1997. Up to and including 2004-05 this was provided solely as revenue support although Nexus were able to use this for capital spending on the Metro. Since then the annual subsidy has included the following specific elements of capital grant:
	
		
			million 
			 2005-06 4.180 
			 2006-07 4.305 
			 2007-08 4.391 
			 2008-09 7.548

York-Beverley Railway Line

Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent discussions he has had with East Riding of Yorkshire Council on the possibility of reopening the Beverley to York railway line; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: Neither I nor my predecessor have had any recent discussions with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council on the possibility of reopening the Beverley to York railway line. The council would be aware that it would be for the local authorities to determine whether reopening the line is the best way to address local transport issues.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of alcohol-related offences resulted in  (a) cautions,  (b) conditional cautions,  (c) penalty notices for disorder and  (d) criminal convictions in (i) England, (ii) Essex and (iii) Castle Point in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 11 June 2009
	Information showing the number of offenders cautioned for alcohol related offences in England and Essex from 2003 to 2007 is in Table 1.
	Information relating to conditional cautions is not available separately. The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence.
	A penalty notice for disorder (PND) may also be issued by the police for certain alcohol related offences such as being drunk and disorderly and drunk in a highway. The number of persons issued with a PND for alcohol related behaviour offences in England and Essex police force area, 2004 to 2007 (latest available) are given in Table 2. The PND scheme was implemented in all 43 police force areas in England and Wales in 2004.
	The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for alcohol related offences in England and Essex, 2003 to 2007 is in Table 3. These figures relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	It is not possible to further breakdown data to constituency level (i.e. Castle Point) as this level of detail is not held centrally.
	Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	
		
			  Table 1 :  Number of offenders( 1)  cautioned for alcohol related offences in England and Essex police force area, 2003 to 2007( 2,3,4) 
			  Area  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 England 17,565 12,995 8,054 5,408 5,656 
			 Essex police force area 49 28 15 10  
			 (1) Includes offences under the: Licensing Act 1872 s.12; Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc) Act 1985 ss.1(2)(3)(4) and 1A(2)(3)(4), 2(1)(2), 5B(2)(3), 5C(3)(4), 5D(2)(3), 6(2); Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 s.1; Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 ss.12, 17, 25(3)(a)(b), 25(4)(5), 32; Criminal Justice Act 1967 s.91; Licensing Act 1964 ss.5C(5), 6, 6, 19, 28(3), 34, 36, 39(1)(2)(3)(4), 45, 48, 51(4), 53, 59(1)(a)(b), 71(4), 72, 84, 85(2), 89, 155(1)(a), 157(1)(a)(b), 157(1)(b), 159, 160,(1)(a)(b), 161(1)(2), 162, 163, 164(1)(2), 165, 166(1)(a)(b), 167, 168A, 168(1)(2), 169A, 169B, 169C(1)(2)(3), 169E(1), 169F, 169G, 170, 171A(1), 172, 172A, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179A(6), 179B(5)(6), 179E(8), 179H(2), 181A(1)(2)(3), 183(1)(2)(3), 184, 185, 186,187(3)(4), 188, 193(7) Sch.8 Appendix C s. 6, Appendix D; Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000 s.1; Licensing Act 2003 ss.33, 40, 41, 46, 49, 56, 57, 59, 82, 83, 93, 94, 96, 108, 109, 123, 127, 128, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 147A, 148, 149(1)(3)(4)(7(a)(b), 150(1)(2), 151, 152, 153, 156, 157, 158, 160,161, 165,168, 179,197, Sch.8 paras 1 and 22; Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 ss.11, 27; Road Traffic Act 1991 s.3; Late Night Refreshment Houses Act 1969 ss.7(2), 8, 9(1)(4), 10; Town Police Clauses Act 1847 ss.35, 61; London Hackney Carriage Act 1843 s.28; Merchant Shipping Act 1995 s.101 (1)(a)(b), (4) and (5); Licensing Act 1902 ss.2, 6(2)(a)(b); Similar provisions in Local Acts; Road Traffic Act ss.4(1)(2) s.5(1)(a)(b), s.6(4), s.7(6); Road Traffic Act 1988 ss.3A, 7A as added by Police Reform Act 2002 s.56, Transport and Works Act 1992 s.31A as added by Police Reform Act 2002 s.52; Licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983 s.3 [Sch. Para. 2, 3(a)(b), 4(1)(2)(3), 5, 6, 7, 8(2), 9(2)]; Licensing Act 1988 s.17,18; Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994, s. 19; Children and Young Persons Act 1933 s.5; Criminal Justice Act 1996 s.6. (2) The cautions statistics cover simple and conditional cautions, reprimands and warnings. They relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. (3) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice ReformEvidence and Analysis Unit 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of penalty notices for disorder issued for alcohol related offences( 1)  in England and Essex Police Force Area, 2004( 2)  to 2007( 3) 
			  Area  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 England 28,679 40,886 48,270 53,170 
			 Essex police force area 758 831 1,017 704 
			 (1) Includes offences under the: Criminal Justice Act 1967 s.91; Licensing Act 2003 s.141, 146(1)(3), 149(1)(3)(4), 150(1)(2), 151; Licensing Act 1872 s.12; Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 s.12. (2 )The offence of being 'drunk and disorderly' moved from the lower tier (50) to the upper tier (80) on 1 November 2004; Sale of alcohol to a person under 18, Purchasing alcohol for a person under 18, Delivery of alcohol to a person under 18 or allowing such delivery, Consumption of alcohol by a person under 18 on relevant premises, Allowing consumption of alcohol by a person under 18 on relevant premises, were added to the scheme on 1 November 2004; Sale of alcohol to a drunken person, Buying or Attempting to buy alcohol by a person under 18, were added to the scheme with effect from 4 April 2005. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform Evidence and Analysis Unit 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for alcohol related offences( 1)  in England and Essex police force area, 2003 to 2007( 2,3) 
			  Area  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 England 104,840 101,039 94,614 94,338 93,564 
			 Essex 2,570 2,813 2,536 2,745 2,579 
			 (1) Includes offences under the: Licensing Act 1872 s.12; Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc) Act 1985 ss.1(2)(3)(4) and 1A(2)(3)(4), 2(1)(2), 5B(2)(3), 5C(3)(4), 5D(2)(3), 6(2); Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 s.1; Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 ss.12, 17, 25(3)(a)(b), 25(4)(5), 32; Criminal Justice Act 1967 s.91; Licensing Act 1964 ss.5C(5), 6, 6, 19, 28(3), 34, 36, 39(1)(2)(3)(4), 45, 48, 51(4), 53, 59(1)(a)(b), 71(4), 72, 84, 85(2), 89, 155(1)(a), 157(1)(a)(b), 157(1)(b), 159, 160,(1)(a)(b), 161(1)(2), 162, 163, 164(1)(2), 165, 166(1)(a)(b), 167, 168A, 168(1)(2), 169A, 169B, 169C(1)(2)(3), 169E(1), 169F, 169G, 170, 171A(1), 172, 172A, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179A(6), 179B(5)(6), 179E(8), 179H(2), 181A(1)(2)(3), 183(1)(2)(3), 184, 185, 186, 187(3)(4), 188, 193(7) Sch.8 Appendix C s. 6, Appendix D; Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000 s.1; Licensing Act 2003 ss.33, 40, 41, 46, 49, 56, 57, 59, 82, 83, 93, 94, 96, 108, 109, 123, 127, 128, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 147A, 148, 149(1)(3)(4)(7(a)(b), 150(1)(2), 151, 152, 153, 156, 157, 158, 160, 161, 165, 168, 179, 197, Sch.8 paras 1 and 22; Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 ss.11,27; Road Traffic Act 1991 s.3; Late Night Refreshment Houses Act 1969 ss.7(2), 8, 9(1)(4), 10; Town Police Clauses Act 1847 ss.35, 61; London Hackney Carriage Act 1843 s.28; Merchant Shipping Act 1995 s.101 (1)(a)(b), (4) and (5); Licensing Act 1902 ss.2, 6(2)(a)(b); Similar provisions in Local Acts; Road Traffic Act ss.4(1)(2) s.5(1)(a)(b), s.6(4), s.7(6); Road Traffic Act 1988 ss.3A, 7A as added by Police Reform Act 2002 s.56, Transport and Works Act 1992 S.31A as added by Police Reform Act 2002 s.52; Licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983 s.3 [Sch. Para. 2, 3(a)(b), 4(1)(2)(3), 5, 6, 7, 8(2), 9(2)]; Licensing Act 1988 s.17, 18; Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994, s.19; Children and Young Persons Act 1933 s.5; Criminal Justice Act 1996 s.6. (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform Evidence and Analysis Unit

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders have been imposed on shoplifters in each year since 2001.

Alan Campbell: Information on the grounds on which ASBOs are imposed is not collated centrally.

Antisocial Behaviour: South West

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much has been spent per head on tackling anti-social behaviour by each local authority in the South West in each of the last three years;
	(2)  if he will estimate the cost to  (a) the economy and  (b) the public purse of anti-social behaviour in each local authority area in the South West in the last year for which figures are available.

Alan Campbell: A one day count of antisocial behaviour issues undertaken by the Home Office in 2003 to understand the impact on key service providers estimated that the cost to Government agencies of responding to reports of antisocial behaviour in England and Wales was approximately 3.4 billion per year. The costs related only to the financial costs to agencies of dealing with antisocial behaviour and did not include indirect costs to local communities and businesses, as well as emotional costs to victims and witnesses. The cost of not taking action against antisocial behaviour is much higher.
	Information on the amount spent by local authorities, including those in the South West Region, on tackling antisocial behaviour is not collected centrally. Home Office funding for local authorities to tackle antisocial behaviour now form part of the general Area Based Grant (ABG) paid by the Department of Communities and Local Government. This grant is designed to increase the funding flexibility and allow local areas much greater freedom to spend money in a way they see fit to support the delivery of local, regional and national priorities in their areas.
	Other Home Office led activities also act to tackle antisocial behaviour, for example the introduction of community support officers in the South West region, but a monetary value cannot be assigned to that contribution. Similarly, other programmes and services contribute, sometimes indirectly, to tackling antisocial behaviour, including diversionary activities for young people, neighbourhood wardens, as well as neighbourhood policing and neighbourhood management.

Civil Nuclear Constabulary: Pay

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the salary structure of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary against relevant public sector comparators.

Phil Woolas: The Civil Nuclear Constabulary falls under the responsibilities of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

Crime

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 851-52W, on crime, for which categories of incident data can be provided in respect of 2007-08.

Alan Johnson: Data for 2007-08 are held centrally for all core incident categories as defined in the National Incident Category List (NICL). The following is a complete list as it applied for 2007-08 for all police forces except for the Metropolitan Police Service, for whom only partial data under the antisocial behaviour theme are available. NICL is subject to annual review and amendment, when some categories may be deleted or revised, or new ones created.
	 The National Incident Category List (NICL)
	 Transport:
	Road Traffic Collision (RTC)Death
	RTCSerious Injury
	RTCMinor Injury
	RTCDamage Only
	Highway Disruption
	Road Related Offence
	Transport Incident/Accident Not Recorded Elsewhere
	 Antisocial Behaviour:
	Abandoned Vehicles(Not Stolen Or Causing An Obstruction)
	Animal Problems
	Begging/Vagrancy
	Hate Incident (Only To Be Used By Forces Unable To Use Hate Qualifiers)
	Hoax Calls To Emergency Services
	Inappropriate Use/Sale/Possession Of Fireworks
	Malicious Communications
	Noise
	Prostitution Related Activity
	Rowdy/NuisanceEnvironmental Damage/Littering
	Rowdy/NuisanceNeighbours
	Rowdy/NuisanceRowdy or Inconsiderate Behaviour
	Street Drinking
	Substance Misuse
	Trespass
	Vehicle Nuisance/Inappropriate Vehicle Use
	 Public Safety/Welfare:
	Abandoned Call
	Absconder/AWOL
	Alarm: Monitoring StationFalse-Active
	Alarm: Monitoring StationFalse-Withdrawn
	Alarm: Police Installed
	Alarm: Premises Audible only
	Breach Of Injunction/Court Order
	Civil Disputes
	Collapse/Illness/Injury/Trapped
	Concern for Safety
	Domestic Incident
	Firearms
	Immigration
	Industrial Incident/Accident
	Insecure Property
	Licensing
	Mental Health
	Missing Person-High Risk
	Missing Person-Medium Risk
	Missing Person-Low Risk
	Missing Person-Unauthorised Absence
	Natural Disaster/Incident/Warning
	Pets/Domesticated Animals
	Protest/Demonstration
	Sudden Death
	Suspicious Circumstances
	Suspicious Package/Object
	Truancy
	Wildlife
	 Administration:
	Advice Matter Only
	Assistance to Other Agency
	Bail/Curfew: Checks/Breach/Wanted Person
	Call made with Good Intent
	Cancel/Exit/Error
	Complaints Against Police
	Duplicate
	Information
	Lost/Found Property/Found Person
	Messages
	Passed to other Agency/Force (Transferred Incident)
	Police Generated Resource Activity
	Pre-Planned Events
	Test/Training
	 Qualifiers:
	 Hate/Discrimination:
	Race
	Religion/Faith
	Gender
	Homophobic
	Transphobic
	Disability (including mental health)
	Age
	 Other Characteristics:
	Alcohol
	Drugs
	Other Intoxicants
	Business
	Call Made with Good Intent
	Cold Calling
	Critical Incident
	Domestic Violence
	Firearms
	Information
	Major Incident
	Persistent Caller
	Weapons
	Vulnerable Child/Young Person
	Youth Related

Crime: Arrests

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for  (a) immigration,  (b) passport,  (c) drug and  (d) knife crime offences in the last 12 months.

Alan Campbell: The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person, sexual offences, drug offences and robbery. Data on arrests for immigration, passport and knife crime offences are not available as it is not possible to identify specific offences from within the offence groups.
	In 2007-08 (latest available) there were 104,532 persons arrested for drug offences in England and Wales.
	The records held by the UK Border Agency for immigration offenders arrested nationally for immigration related offences, including passport and documentation offences, show that 10,750 offenders were arrested in 2007-08. These UK Border Agency figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, should be treated as provisional and is subject to change.
	The UK Border Agency adopts an intelligence and target led approach to operations and our top priority has been to protect the public and remove from the UK the most harmful people first. Based on UK Border Agency management information 5,395 foreign national prisoners were removed in 2008exceeding our target of 5,000.

Crime: Parking

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to bring forward proposals to make nuisance parking on unadopted roads a criminal offence.

Sadiq Khan: I have been asked to reply.
	Traffic authorities already have wide-ranging powers under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to make Traffic Regulation Orders to restrict parking on any highway and other road to which the general public has access.

Cybercrime

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many websites were closed down by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency's E-Crime Unit in 2008-09.

Alan Johnson: The responsibility for closing down fraudulent or malicious websites rests with communication service providers, who act on a variety of information including that which may have been provided by SOCA. SOCA is only directly involved in the closure of the site in the event that the provider has failed to respond to a take down notice, or if data need to be preserved or acquired for a statutory purpose.
	During 2008-09, there were more than 36 separate occasions where the e-Crime department was directly involved in the removal of such websites.

Departmental Older Workers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff aged over  (a) 55 and  (b) 65 years his Department employs.

Phil Woolas: As at 30 April 2009 the Home Office employed 3,315 staff aged over 55.
	Of these, 115 are over 65 years.

Deportation: Vietnam

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Vietnamese  (a) adults and  (b) children have been deported from the UK in the last three years.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only by the examination of individual Home Office files at disproportionate cost.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate web site at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Deportation: Zimbabwe

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people  (a) have been forcibly removed to and  (b) returned voluntarily to Zimbabwe in each week of 2009.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 10 June 2009
	The requested information is not available. The following table shows the number of removals and voluntary departures from the United Kingdom to Zimbabwe between January and March 2009, by month and type of departure. This is the latest period in 2009 for which published information is available.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Removals and voluntary departures( 1)  to Zimbabwe( 2) , by month and type, January to March 2009( 3) 
			  Number of departures( 4) 
			   January  February  March  Quarter 1 2009 
			 Total removals and voluntary departures to Zimbabwe 10 30 30 75 
			  
			  Of which: 
			 Non-asylum cases refused entry at port and subsequently removed(5) * *  5 
			 Enforced removals and notified voluntary departures(6) 5 5 5 15 
			 Assisted voluntary returns(7) 5 20 25 50 
			 Other voluntary departures(8) * 5 * 10 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 ( = 0, * = 1 or 2) and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding.  (2) Destination as recorded on source database.  (3) Provisional figures. Figures will under record due to data cleansing and data matching exercises that take place after the extracts are taken.  (4) Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken.  (5) Includes removals performed by immigration officers at ports using enforcement powers and cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls.  (6) Since October 2006, figures include persons leaving under Facilitated Return Schemes.  (7) Persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organization for Migration. May include some on-entry cases and some cases where enforcement action has been initiated.  (8) Persons who it has been established left the UK without informing the immigration authorities.

Detention Centres

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times he has visited immigration removal centres in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: My right hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Jacqui Smith), the former Home Secretary visited one immigration removal centre (IRC) in the past 12 monthsshe opened Brook House IRC on 18 March 2009.

Entry Clearances: Religious Persons

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of the new regulations for religious workers who apply for a visa to enter the UK; how many applicants have been refused under the new arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 20 May 2009
	There are provisions for religious workers to enter the UK under the new points based system, using Tier 2: Minister of Religion Route or Tier 5 Religious Worker. Both of these tiers were implemented on 27 November 2008. During the development of this policy and since implementation, officials have engaged with faith communities about these provisions. As the points based system beds in, it will undergo further evaluation.
	In answer to the request for refusal figures, we are planning to publish information in August which will address grants and refusals. We will be able to provide the information requested at this point.

Entry Clearances: Sports Competitors

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were received for sports visas in each of the last five years; and what percentage of each were approved in each such year.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 1 June 2009
	The data are not available as visas for sportspersons were not identified separately for the period in question.

Forensic Science Service

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the likely effects of the proposed restructuring of the Forensic Science Service (FSS) on  (a) the efficiency with which crimes will be solved and  (b) the range of services and expertise available at the FSS.

Alan Campbell: The transformation of the Forensic Science Service (FSS) was announced by written ministerial statement on 8 June 2009,  Official Report, column 21WS. The FSS will continue to provide its services to its customers throughout this period of change and the process of re-organisation is to make the business more efficient, more cost-effective and to consolidate its expertise so that it can compete more effectively in the competitive market for forensic procurement.
	The way in which forensic science services are procured has changed significantly with the introduction of the National Forensic Procurement Framework, which is designed to improve the effectiveness of police procurement in this area.
	It should be emphasized that at present all proposals are subject to collective consultation which was launched on 8 June 2009.

Forensic Science Service

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Minister authorised the proposed job restructuring at the Forensic Science Service.

Alan Campbell: The transformation of the Forensic Science Service (FSS) was announced by written ministerial statement (WMS) on 8 June 2009,  Official Report, column 21WS. As the WMS makes clear, the transformation programme is the central focus of the FSS Strategic Business Plan presented by the board to the Home Office in December, and now approved following rigorous consultation with HM Treasury.
	There are as yet no firm proposals for restructuring, the FSS has launched a consultation process on a major transformation programme, with the support of the Home Office shareholder.

G20: Greater London

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2009,  Official Report, column 595W, on G20: Greater London, what accommodation was used by the 329 police officers from other forces while they were in London.

Alan Johnson: Out of the 329 non-Metropolitan police officers involved in the policing of the G20 protests referred to in the answer of 21 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 594-95W, 80 were accommodated at a central London hotel. The rest did not require accommodation.

Gurkhas

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take in response to the Nepalese Government's request that his Department's policy on former Gurkha soldiers introduced in 2004 be applied to all former Gurkha soldiers.

Phil Woolas: Policy introduced in 2004 enables those who served in the Brigade of Gurkhas, for a minimum of four years, on or after July 1997 to apply for settlement in the United Kingdom.
	On 21 May 2009, the Home Secretary announced that new guidance would be published to make it clear that those who served between 1945 and 1997 and who have served a minimum of four years would be eligible to apply for settlement. This guidance has now been published.

Human Trafficking

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 October 2008,  Official Report, column 512W, on human trafficking, what the nationalities were of those  (a) arrested and  (b) convicted of human trafficking offences in the UK in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: The list of countries of origin to date of those arrested and/or convicted of human trafficking offences is set out as follows:
	United Kingdom
	Nigeria
	Somalia
	Romania
	Poland
	Spain
	Lithuania
	Latvia
	Bulgaria
	Cameroon
	Kosovo
	Turkey
	Thailand
	Malaysia
	Pakistan
	Albania
	Hungary
	Moldova
	Vietnam
	Slovakia
	Congo
	Brazil
	China
	Ukraine
	Czech Republic
	Portugal
	Serbia
	Germany
	Philippines
	Macedonia
	Greece

Immigration

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of stateless people residing in the UK.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 27 April 2009
	As signatories to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons ('the Stateless Convention') we fulfil our Convention obligations, including recognition of the definition of stateless contained in Article 1 of the Convention.
	No estimate has been made of the number of stateless people residing in the UK by the Home Office.

Immigration

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance is available to stateless people in the UK.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 27 April 2009
	As signatories to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons ('the Stateless Convention') we fulfil our convention obligations, including recognition of the definition of stateless contained in article 1 of the convention.
	There is no provision in primary legislation or in the Immigration Rules that provides for assistance to be made available to a person on the basis of a claim that they are stateless. As with any other person subject to immigration control, a person claiming to be stateless will only be eligible for publicly funded assistance in limited circumstances: if they have applied for leave to enter or remain in the UK under the Immigration Rules, or if they have made a claim for international protection, and meet the criteria for specific assistance as applicable. While each case would be considered on its merits, in practice stateless people who are granted international protection would be eligible for assistance.

Immigration Controls

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants entered the UK under Tier 1 of the points-based system in 2008.

Phil Woolas: During 2008, a total of 12,052 visas were issued to non-EEA nationals for entry to the UK under tier 1 of the points based system.
	These data are unpublished and should be treated as provisional.

Immigration: Armed Forces

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) Gurkhas and  (b) other foreign nationals who have served in the armed services have been granted the right to settle in the UK in each of the last 20 years.

Phil Woolas: The number of main applicants granted settlement as a former member of the armed forces is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  Total 
			 Gurkhas 214 2,115 3,123 578 98 6,128 
			 Commonwealth 6 48 181 288 140 663 
			 Total 220 2,163 3,304 866 238 6,791 
		
	
	Data from earlier than 2004 is not available.
	Please note this is Management Information and is not a National Statistic.

Immigration: Gurkhas

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Gurkhas have been deported in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons removed and departed voluntarily from the UK on a quarterly and annual basis. These statistics are broken down by nationality only. To disaggregate Gurkhas from these statistics could be done only through the examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.

Immigration: Vietnam

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Vietnamese children were being held in custody on the latest date for which information is available.

Phil Woolas: National Statistics on children detained solely under Immigration Act powers by country of nationality as at 31 March 2009 are published in Table F of the supplementary tables to the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom: January - March 2009 bulletin; this is the latest date for which published information is available. Copies of this publication are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Joint Education Taskforce

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who represents his Department on the Joint Education Taskforce; and what their role on the taskforce is.

Phil Woolas: An official at director level is chair of the Joint Education Taskforce. The Joint Education Taskforce provides a joint forum for the agency and education establishments to consider the development and implementation of the points based system for managing the flow of migrants coming to the UK to study.

Offensive Weapons: Wales

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of homicide involving killing by a sharp instrument there were in  (a) Dyfed Powys police force area and  (b) Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Campbell: Available information is from the Homicide Index and relates to the number of homicides recorded between 1998-99 and 2007-08.
	
		
			  Homicides currently recorded( 1)  where apparent method of killing is sharp instrument( 2) : Dyfed-Powys police force area and Wales region, 1998-99 to 2007-08 
			   Number 
			  Year( 3)  Dyfed-Powys  Wales 
			 1998-99 2 12 
			 1999-2000 0 9 
			 2000-01 1 7 
			 2001-02 0 14 
			 2002-03 3 10 
			 2003-04 0 3 
			 2004-05 0 13 
			 2005-06 2 7 
			 2006-07 1 11 
			 2007-08 1 11 
			 (1) As at 4 November 2008; figures are revised as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) Includes knives as well as other sharp instruments. (3) Offences are shown according to the year in which the police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made.

Offensive Weapons: Wales

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported incidents of  (a) attempted murder,  (b) wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) and  (c) wounding or inflicting GBH without intent by use of a knife or sharp instrument there were in (i) Dyfed Powys police force area and (ii) Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Campbell: Available information for knife and sharp instrument offences recorded by the police for selected offences is provided for 2007-08 only. Data are not available for previous years.
	
		
			  Knife and sharp instrument offences recorded by the police for selected offences, 2007-08 
			   Number of offences involving a knife( 1) 
			   Dyfed Powys  Wales 
			 Attempted murder 3 5 
			 Wounding with intent to do GBH(2) 31 499 
			 Wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm GBH (i.e. without intent)(3) 31 110 
			 (1) In this table offences involving a knife refers to the use of a knife or sharp instrument. (2) A clarification in counting rules from April 2008 has affected recording of offences in this category. (3) Includes racially or religiously aggravated wounding or inflicting GBH. The definition of this category altered from April 2008.

Police National Computer: Data Protection

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police staff have been  (a) investigated,  (b) disciplined and  (c) dismissed for unauthorised or improper use of the Police National Computer database in each of the last five years.

Alan Johnson: This information is not held centrally, the use of information on the PNC is a matter for individual police forces as is the investigation, discipline and dismissal of police staff.
	Access to information on the PNC requires authorisation and the user system logs both what information the user requests and what they are ultimately shown.
	The National Policing Improvement Agency has no evidence of the system being breached in the last five years. Any incidents would be addressed by the relevant police force.

Police National Computer: Data Protection

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of data on the Police National Computer being supplied to individuals unauthorised to receive it have been recorded in each of the last five years.

Alan Johnson: The National Policing Improvement Agency has no evidence of any system breaches within the last five years. Access to information on the PNC requires authorisation and the user system logs both what information the user requests and what they are ultimately shown. Any incidents involving users accessing data for unauthorised purposes would be a matter for the relevant police force.

Police: Disciplinary Proceedings

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigatory procedure is followed in circumstances where a serving police officer is alleged to have acted unlawfully in the course of his duties; what procedure is followed to determine which authority is competent to carry out an investigation; and whether the Independent Police Complaints Commission may carry out such investigations.

David Hanson: holding answer 15 June 2009
	The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) deals with complaints and allegations of misconduct against police officers in England and Wales, including allegations of criminal behaviour. The police must refer certain types of incidents to the IPCC. These include allegations of a serious criminal offence.
	When a matter is referred to the IPCC, it makes a Mode of Investigation (MOI) decision to determine how the case should be investigated. Irrespective of any allegation of criminality, the IPCC may investigate it independently or return it to the force to be dealt with.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases relating to  (a) drugs,  (b) firearms and  (c) counterfeit currency have been referred to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) by HM Revenue and Customs; and how many such cases have been investigated by SOCA.

Alan Johnson: Under arrangements agreed between HM Revenue and Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), HM Revenue and Customs notify SOCA of seizures made at ports that meet specific criteria. SOCA undertakes systematic checks on every notification, but investigates only where the size of the seizure, significance of the criminals involved and operational opportunities presented are assessed as appropriate for further action, in line with the priorities set in the UK Organised Crime Control Strategy.
	In the period 1 September 2007 to 30 April 2009, within the framework:
	 (a) SOCA received 161 notifications relating to drugs and adopted 29 of these for criminal investigation.
	 (b) SOCA received three notifications relating to firearms, none of which was adopted for criminal investigation by SOCA.
	 (c) SOCA received one notification relating to counterfeit currency which was not adopted for criminal investigation by SOCA.
	The notifications that are not adopted for criminal investigation were debriefed by SOCA and, wherever appropriate, progressed by another law enforcement agency.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Serious Organised Crime Agency's proceeds of crime targets were in respect of  (a) cash seizure,  (b) cash forfeiture,  (c) restraint orders,  (d) confiscation orders and  (e) civil recovery in 2008-09.

Alan Johnson: Targets for 2008-09 were published in the Serious Organised Crime Agency's Annual Plan for that year as follows:
	 (a) There was no target for cash seizure
	 (b) 6 million cash forfeiture
	 (c) There was no external target as restraint is used to prevent the dissipation of assets during investigation. However, SOCA set an internal target of 62.5 million for restraint orders.
	 (d) 46 million confiscationthis figure was made up of 42million of confiscation orders obtained by SOCA and 4 million of confiscation orders enforced by SOCA on confiscation cases inherited from the Assets Recovery Agency.
	 (e) There was no SOCA civil recovery and tax target, but an overall HMG target of 16 million.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) arrested on suspicion and  (b) convicted of offences relating to organised immigration crime as a result of operations by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09.

Alan Johnson: In 2007-08, there were 129 arrests and 30 convictions as a result of operations where organised immigration crime was the main focus. In 2008-09 there were 140 arrests and 15 convictions as a result of operations where organised immigration crime was the main focus.
	In addition to the numbers arrested and convicted as a result of investigations into organised immigration crime, others were dealt with administratively under immigration powers, for example by deportation or exclusion.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the Serious Organised Crime Agency Annual Report 2008-09, how many of the 5,000 criminals on record with the Serious and Organised Crime Agency as a result of its operational activity have been  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted of offences as a result of the Agency's activity.

Alan Johnson: The figure of 5,000 persons of interest includes individuals who are outside UK jurisdiction or are already in prison. During SOCA's first three years of operation, its work led to the prosecution of 920 and the conviction of 863 individuals.

Serious Organised Crime Agency: Manpower

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many liaison officers are employed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency; and what their average annual salary is.

Alan Campbell: As of 1 June 2009, the Serious Organised Crime Agency had 104 liaison officers based overseas. Liaison officer grades and salaries vary according to the post and responsibilities, but the majority of liaison officers are on a salary in the range of 40,586 to 54,050.

Serious Organised Crime Agency: Marketing

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on marketing and advertising by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in each of the last three years.

Alan Johnson: The only expenditure SOCA has incurred on advertising and marketing has been on recruiting for staff, on which the following was spent:
	
		
			
			 2006-07 83,000 
			 2007-08 141,000 
			 2008-09 340,000

UK Border Agency: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the UK Border Agency plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 29 April 2009 on a constituent, reference B14712/9.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 8 June 2009
	The UK Border Agency wrote to my hon. Friend on 21 May 2009.

UK Border Agency: Telephone Services

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will allocate an 0300 telephone prefix to the UK Border Agency's telephone numbers in order to reduce the cost of telephone calls to mobile telephone users; and if he will estimate the likely level of savings to  (a) his Department and  (b) service users of introducing such a change.

Phil Woolas: The agency is currently reviewing moving all of its main contact centre numbers to 0300 numbers and has recently transferred its Sponsorship and Employer Helpline to an 0300 number.
	From 1 August 2009 changes to 0870 numbers will come into effect. Ofcom has ruled that the cost to a caller of making an 0870 call must be the same as an 0300 call. UKBA callers will therefore be charged the same irrespective of whether they call an 0870 or an 0300 number from 1 August 2009.
	The actual cost to the caller will depend upon their agreement with their service provider according to their geographic 01 or 02 rates, whether they call from a mobile or a landline.
	The UK Border Agency does not receive revenue from 0870 or 0300 numbers.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to answer question 262469, tabled on 5 March 2009, on fines imposed on those selling alcohol to underage people.

Alan Campbell: The hon. Member's question was answered on 8 June 2009,  Official Report, columns 709-12W.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Chorley Borough Council: Bank Services

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information he holds on the sum to be repaid to Chorley Borough Council from its deposit with Landsbanki; and when he expects the repayment to be made.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Central Government do not hold the information requested. The resolution committee for the bank, on which local authorities are represented, has published information on likely rates of return. The timetable of the administration process is a matter for the administrators. The Government have been doing everything they can to help local authorities, along with other creditors, get their money back. High-level discussions continue to ensure the fair and transparent treatment of UK creditors.

Chorley Borough Council: Complaints

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints have been received by Chorley Borough Council on council services in each of the last four quarters.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: This information is not held centrally. This information can be obtained from the local authority.

Council Housing: Property Transfer

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) turnout and  (b) result was of each local authority large-scale voluntary transfer of housing ballot since 1997.

Ian Austin: A table has been deposited in the Library setting out the turnout and the result of each local authority large-scale voluntary transfer of housing ballot since 1997.

Council Housing: Waiting Lists

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average waiting time for a person to obtain local authority housing with disabled access in Stockport was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ian Austin: The information requested is not supplied via the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA), nor through any other central reporting system submitted to Communities and Local Government, and as such the Department does not hold this information.

Councillors: Thames Gateway

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what payments have been made by Thames Gateway to councillors for participation in Thames Gateway meetings and activities in the last 12 months.

Shahid Malik: None.

Derelict Land: Property Development

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of new homes were built on brownfield sites in  (a) Tameside and  (b) Stockport in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: The proportions of new dwellings built on previously developed land by local authority area are published in the Department's Land Use Change Statistics Live Table 213. This table can be found at
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planningbuilding/planningstatistics/livetables/landusechange/
	The statistics are shown as for averages for the following periods 1992-95, 1996-99, 2000-03, 2004-07. Estimates for individual years at district level are not regarded as reliable.

Eco-Towns

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account the regional spatial strategy planning process will take of eco-town sites.

Ian Austin: The draft Planning Policy Statement (PPS)Eco-townsconsultation published in November 2008 sets out that eco-towns are one of a range of options regions should consider when determining the overall level and distribution of housing in future RSS reviews. The draft PPS adds that where an eco-town location has already been identified in the eco-towns programme or in a development plan document or where a planning applications for an eco-town has been approved, regions should consider the location or the longer-term growth options for the eco-town.
	The consultation period for the draft PPS concluded on 30 April and Government are currently considering the responses to the consultation.

Empty Property: Merseyside

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 11 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 512-14W, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the number of long-term empty dwellings in Merseyside.

Ian Austin: We work closely with the independent Empty Homes Agency to encourage local authorities to tackle empty homes in their areas. Through the Housing Act 2004, we have introduced new powers to allow local authorities to take over the management of private sector empty homes (Empty Dwelling Management Orders) where a voluntary approach is not successful. We are supporting the Empty Homes Agency's new guidance on EDMOs, which was launched on 10 March. The guidance is internet based and interactive and takes local authorities through the EDMO process step by step. My right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett) provided a foreword for the guidance.
	The Department hosted an empty homes seminar for a number of local authorities on 23 April to provide an opportunity to discuss the obstacles facing authorities in dealing with empty homes, share examples of best practice, and encourage them to take action to tackle empty homes in their area.

Fires

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 June 2009,  Official Report, column 749W, on fires, what categories of household items are included in the statistical reporting of fire incidents as  (a) item first ignited and  (b) other.

Shahid Malik: Under the previous system of reporting fires, which ended in March 2009, the main headings of household items categories are as follows:
	cooking
	heating
	lighting
	other (electrical appliances)
	clothing and textiles
	furniture and furnishings
	waste, other (mostly paper items).
	All categories are listed on pages 40 to 49 of the Fire Data Report Code List (version 5).
	Similar categories are in use under the new Incident Recording System, and these are listed on pages 67 to 72 of Incident Recording System Questions and Lists (version 1.1). Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library of the House.

Home Information Packs

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 8 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 441-3W, on home information packs, for what reasons the public relations work relating to home information packs undertaken by Blue Rubicon was contracted out.

Ian Austin: The public relations work relating to home information packs undertaken by Blue Rubicon was contracted out in order to provide value for money. The agency selected was from the Central Office of Information public relations framework.

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much the  (a) Homes and Communities Agency and  (b) Tenant Services Authority spent on administration in 2008-09;
	(2)  what the budget of the  (a) Homes and Communities Agency and  (b) Tenant Services Authority was for 2008-09.

John Healey: In respect of the Homes and Communities Agency, I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett) gave him on 26 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 113-14W.
	The Tenant Services Authority's final budget figures will be published in their annual report and accounts to be laid before Parliament later this year.

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects the  (a) Tenant Services Authority and  (b) Homes and Communities Agency to publish accounts for 2008-09.

John Healey: The 2008-09 accounts for the Tenant Services Authority and the Homes and Communities Agency will be published later this year.

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been allocated to the  (a) Homes and Communities Agency and  (b) Tenant Services Authority for (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

John Healey: Funding for 2009-10 and 2010-11 for the Homes and Communities Agency will be set out in the HCA's corporate plan.
	For the Tenant Services Authority's funding, I refer the hon. Member to the response given by my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) on 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 78W, to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow).

Housing: Construction

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes were built in Milton Keynes in each of the last 48 months.

Ian Austin: New house building statistics are not collected on a monthly basis, but on a quarterly basis. The number of new build homes completed in Milton Keynes in each of the last eight quarters is shown in the table.
	
		
			   Number 
			  2007  
			 Quarter 2 547 
			 Quarter 3 596 
			 Quarter 4 1,071 
			   
			  2008  
			 Quarter 1 286 
			 Quarter 2 554 
			 Quarter 3 603 
			 Quarter 4 358 
			   
			  2009  
			 Quarter 1 308

Housing: Expenditure

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on capital expenditure on housing in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: holding answer 4 June 2009
	The following table summarises the investment in housing since 1997. This includes grants to the private sector, contributions to registered social landlords, and expenditure on council-owned housing stock.
	
		
			   Investment in housing ( million) 
			 1997-98 1,894 
			 1998-99 2,098 
			 1999-2000 2,173 
			 2000-01 2,866 
			 2001-02 3,312 
			 2002-03 3,598 
			 2003-04 4,685 
			 2004-05 4,767 
			 2005-06 5,106 
			 2006-07 5,194 
			 2007-08 5,606 
			 2008-09 (1)6,122 
			 (1) Unaudited figure; this was the planned expenditure for 2008-09.

Housing: Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect of his Department's plans to refocus housing and planning delivery grant on the level of grant allocated to local authorities.

Ian Austin: Housing and Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG) Consultation on allocation mechanism for year 2 and year 3 was published on 12 May 2009. The closing date for responses is 23 June 2009, consideration will then be given to the responses to the proposed changes to the allocation mechanism.

Housing: Low Incomes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent guidance his Department has issued to local authorities and planning bodies on ensuring that affordable housing development meets local needs.

Ian Austin: Planning Policy Statement 3, published in November 2006, says that local development documents and regional spatial strategies should be informed by a robust, shared evidence base, in particular, of housing need and demand, and that this evidence should be used to set an overall target for the amount of affordable housing to be provided.
	In August 2007, the Government published guidance on completing a strategic housing market assessment. The guidance sets out a framework that local authorities and regional bodies can follow to develop a good understanding of how housing markets operate. It promotes an approach to assessing housing need and demand which can inform the development of local development documents and regional spatial strategy planning for housing policies.

Infrastructure Planning Commission

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the remuneration for the post of chairman of the Infrastructure Planning Commission will be made personally to Sir Michael Pitt.

John Healey: The remuneration due to Sir Michael Pitt as chair designate of the Infrastructure Planning Commission is being paid to him in accordance with the terms of his appointment, following the deduction of the appropriate income tax and national insurance contributions.

Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the councillor call for action powers in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 were implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Councillor call for action gives councillors a new right to raise matters of local concern with their council's overview and scrutiny committee. It is a valuable tool for equipping councillors to act as powerful advocates for the communities they serve and to strengthen still further their role as community champions.
	Councillor call for action for local government matters came into force 1 April 2009.

Local Government: Legal Opinion

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on their use of external legal advice; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has issued no such guidance.

Local Government: Procurement

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department has taken to promote the uptake of collaborative procurement strategies within local authorities, as recommended in HM Treasury's May 2009 review, Operational Efficiency Programme: collaborative procurement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Surveys commissioned by the Department have shown that over three-quarters of councils already use purchasing consortia. To promote further action in this area, Bill Roots's Review of arrangements for efficiencies from smarter procurement in local government, published in February, recommended that Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) should act as the conduit for best deals, with local authorities deciding which deals to buy into. This would require effective communication between RIEPs and local authorities about the opportunities and benefits from engaging in collaborative procurement. The LGA and RIEPs are deciding how to implement these recommendations, which support delivery of those in the Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP).
	In respect of fire and rescue authorities, Spikes Cavell have been commissioned to undertake work on spend management. The revised Fire and Rescue Service National Procurement Strategy, due to be published in July, will reflect the recommendations from the OEP.

Planning Permission

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, column 141W, on planning permission, by how much grant allocation will be reduced if a local planning authority does not complete its priority development plan documents in accordance with the agreed time scale  (a) in 2008-09 and  (b) under the plans for the new Housing and Planning Delivery Grant system.

Ian Austin: The mechanism for Housing and Planning Delivery Grant HPDG was set out in the Housing and Planning Delivery GrantAllocation Mechanism and Summary of Consultation Responses which was published in July 2007. The mechanism for determining HPDG for 2008-09 is set out in that document which can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/doc/hpdgresponse
	Where a local authority's development plan documents are not delivered in accordance with agreed timetable the amount of grant is reduced as set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage of grant paid 
			  Development plan document (DPD) stage  On time  35 and 190 days late  189 and 365 days late 
			 Submission 40 25 0 
			 Adoption 60 35 20 
			 Total award for DPDs 100 60 20 
		
	
	We are currently consulting on proposed changes to the Housing and Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG) Consultation on allocation mechanism for year 2 and year 3 which was published on 12 May 2009. The closing date for responses is 23 June 2009. The consultation document does not propose any changes to the mechanism for the delivery of development plan documents.

Planning Permission

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been given to local planning authorities on Section 106 agreements with  (a) parish councils and  (b) voluntary organisations applying to build community facilities.

Ian Austin: The Government's policy on the use of planning obligations (also known as section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) is contained in 'Circular 05/2005: Planning Obligations'. Further guidance on the use of planning obligations is provided by the publication 'Planning Obligations: Practice Guidance', published by the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2006. Both publications are available on the Department's website.

Planning Permission

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received on the infringement of land title or other rights by planning law in the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: Communities and Local Government received 69 responses to the consultation paper Overriding easements and other rights: Possible amendment to section 237 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which was published in August 2007. The responses indicated a strong degree of support for the proposed amendment and the amendment was included in schedule 9 of the Planning Act 2008. The consultation paper and a summary of the consultation responses is available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/archived/publications/planningandbuilding/easementsconsultation

Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was allocated through the Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund to each regional Government office in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09.

Shahid Malik: The funding provided through the 6 million Preventing Violent Extremism Fund in 2007-08, and the funding provided through the Area Based Grant in 2008-09 to support local Prevent work, is paid directly to local authorities. A list of funding for 2007-08 and 2008-09, broken down by Government office region, is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Regional breakdown of PVE pathfinder funding 2007-08 and 2008-09 
			   
			  Region  2007-08  2008-09 
			 London 2,080,377 4,865,000 
			 North West 1,205,000 2,300,000 
			 West Midlands 800,000 1,500,000 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 550,000 1,210,000 
			 South East 450,000 1,005,000 
			 East of England 380,000 520,000 
			 East Midlands 300,000 665,000 
			 North East 125,000 230,000 
			 South West 80,000 125,000

Private Rented Housing

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether an impact assessment has been produced for his Department's plans for a national registration system for landlords in the private rented sector.

Ian Austin: An impact assessment for our proposals for a national register for landlords has been placed on my Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/impactassessmentlandlords

Property Development: Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to review planning guidance issued by his Department in respect of development on flood plains following the recommendations made in the Pitt Report on the summer flooding 2007.

Ian Austin: Sir Michael Pitt's review of the summer 2007 floods found that the policy approach in Planning Policy Statement 25, Development and Flood Risk, (PPS25) is sound and should be rigorously applied. The Government agreed with the review report's recommendations on planning and flood risk. We are therefore continuing to keep the operation and effectiveness of PPS25 under review.
	We are currently considering what amendments it would be appropriate to make to update the Practice Guide to PPS25, which provides practical advice to local authorities on implementing the policy, to ensure the guidance remains relevant and clear.

Railways: Trees

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward legislative proposals to provide for  (a) the application of preservation orders to trees situated alongside railway embankments and  (b) local authorities to intervene in respect of Network Rail proposals to remove such trees.

Ian Austin: Local planning authorities can already make preservation orders to protect trees on Network Rail property, including railway embankments. Local planning authorities can also intervene on proposals by Network Rail to undertake works on such trees. Network Rail, as a statutory undertaker, has an exemption within the legislation to undertake works to protected trees which is necessary for public safety. Otherwise it must apply to the local planning authority for consent to undertake work to its protected trees, as any other person or organisation would.

Recreation Spaces

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department's Green Spaces Hub will hold any data relating to green space in private ownership.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: None of the data sets in the Green Spaces Hub identifies land ownership.
	The Green Spaces Hub makes available in one place data sets on green and open spaces that are owned by several public sector organisations. Some of these data sets identify only public sector managed land while others identify land parcels, and therefore ownership could be private or public. In these cases there is no ownership designation.

Regional Planning and Development

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to publish the final regional spatial strategy for the South West before the end of June 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: We intended to issue the final regional spatial strategy for the South West at the end of June. However, on 20 May, the High Court issued a judgment that the previously issued regional spatial strategy for the East of England had failed to meet certain requirements of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive, in respect of three towns. My Department and the Government Office for the South West are considering the implications for the regional spatial strategy for the South West, but cannot reach a clear view until the written judgment is issued by the Court. It is not possible to set a new timetable, until the implications of the judgment have been clarified, and what action is required, if any.

Regional Planning and Development

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what requirements there are on him to consult on revisions to a regional spatial strategy.

Ian Austin: PPS 11: Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS) sets out the requirements for the Secretary of State to consult on revisions to a RSS, refer to Table 1: Summary of the RSS Revision Process page 24 .
	Once the Secretary of State receives the Panel Report prepared by the independent Chair of the Enquiry in Public, the Secretary of State then drafts the Secretary of State's Proposed Changes to the RSS, which is then subject to a eight-week public consultation process, prior to the issue of the final RSS by the Secretary of State.

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the effect on businesses of self-certification of fire risk assessments under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Shahid Malik: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 has been in force since October 2006. Last year my Department commissioned an initial evaluation into the effectiveness of the Order in England, looking at its impact on the enforcers, 'responsible persons', and on the fire safety industry. A copy of the report ('Initial Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005'Fire Research 3/2009) is available in the Library.

Rented Housing: Disabled

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to  (a) promote and  (b) enforce minimum standards of facilities for tenants with severe disabilities in housing provided by not-for-profit housing associations;
	(2)  if he will take steps to improve regulation of the standards for housing provided by not-for-profit housing associations for people with severe disabilities;
	(3)  if he will take steps to strengthen the regulation of charges levied on local authorities by not-for-profit housing associations who provide accommodation and support for tenants with severe disabilities.

Ian Austin: The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) is currently in the process of developing its standards framework. The aim is to improve the standard of service for all tenants, and the standards currently being developed will be a key method of achieving this. Where landlords do not meet these standards, the TSA will use the powers bestowed on them through the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 to ensure this is addressed, and the quality of service improved.
	The Care Quality Commission is responsible for the regulation of accommodation for people who require nursing or special care. From 2010 a new registration system will ensure that health and adult social care providers must be registered with the CQC to show they meet a wide range of essential, common quality standards.
	The CQC have a wide range of enforcement powers, such as fines and public warnings, and they have flexibility about how and when to use them.
	Further information on the Commission including their enforcement powers can be found on their website at:
	http://www.cqc.org.uk/aboutcqc/whatwedo/registrationandenforcement.cfm
	Since there are no apparent circumstances where a not for profit housing association would levy charges upon a local authority, no regulation is currently being envisaged in this area.

Social Rented Housing: South East

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many unsold market homes have been bought by the Homes and Community Agency for use as social housing in  (a) the South East and  (b) Milton Keynes since the establishment of the agency.

Ian Austin: The following tables show the expected numbers of affordable homes to be provided in both the South East region and Milton Keynes with grant funding from the Homes and Communities Agency since 1 December 2008 when the agency was established.
	
		
			  Allocations in the South East region for the purchase of developer stock from 1 December 2008 to 31 March 2009 
			   Number of units 
			 Low cost home ownership 454 
			 Social rent 584 
			 Total 1,038 
		
	
	
		
			  Allocations in Milton Keynes for the purchase of developer stock from 1 December 2008 to 31 March 2009 
			   Number of units 
			 Low cost home ownership 58 
			 Social rent 6 
			 Total 64 
			  Source: Homes and Communities Agency

Surrey Police: Council Tax

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many meetings between Ministers and officials from his Department and  (a) Surrey Police and  (b) Surrey Police Authority took place between July 2008 and May 2009; on what date each such meeting took place; who attended each meeting; and what topics were discussed at each meeting.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There was one meeting with Surrey police authority on 21 April 2009 to allow the authority to present its challenge to its designation for capping face to face with Ministers. Ministers at the meeting were the then Local Government Minister, the then Police Minister and their officials. Those attending on behalf of Surrey police authority were Peter Williams (chairman of the authority), Dr. Sue Martin (chief executive), Ian Perkin (treasurer) and Mark Rowley (chief constable).

Surrey Police: Council Tax

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  on what date his Department first informed Surrey police that it intended to use a 2008-09 notional budget requirement and a 2008-09 notional Band D council tax rate in determining whether to cap Surrey Police Authority's precept;
	(2)  what information  (a) the Secretary of State and  (b) (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in his Department provided to Surrey police in July 2008 on the notional council tax precept to be used when setting its 2009-10 budget.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Officials wrote to the authority on 26 June 2008 informing it that the Secretary of State had proposed a notional budget requirement of 189,622,000 for 2008-09. The authority subsequently exercised its right to challenge its proposed notional budget requirement.
	Officials then wrote to the authority on 11 September 2008 informing it that, having carefully considered its challenge, the Secretary of State had confirmed the notional budget requirement of 189,622,000 for 2008-09.
	Further correspondence from officials beginning on 24 October 2008 (in response to a query from Surrey police on 21 October) confirmed that, in the event that Ministers decided to cap in 2009-10 and included a council tax capping principle, such a principle would operate with reference to a notional level of council tax for 2008-09.

Unitary Councils: Costs

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 12 May 2009,  Official Report, column 730W, on unitary councils, how latest estimates for the restructuring costs for the new unitary councils break down between spending areas; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The transition costs of around 138 million were based on the councils' proposals for unitary structures in their areas, remodelled where appropriate by independent financial consultants to reflect risks in the proposals and the potential impact of those risks on the business cases. These costs were summarised in the Impact Assessments published before the proposals were debated and approved by the House.
	The stocktake visits that my officials undertook earlier this year confirmed that transition costs and savings were broadly in line with those in the proposals, and transition costs (at around 135 million) were likely to be slightly below the original estimated figure. We will continue to monitor progress in delivering these costs and savings.

CABINET OFFICE

Abortion

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the rate of  (a) conception and  (b) pregnancy terminated by abortion was among those under the age of 18 years in (i) England, (ii) Essex and (iii) Castle Point in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated June 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the rate of (a) conception and (b) pregnancy terminated by abortion was among those under the age of 18 years in (i) England, (ii) Essex and (iii) Castle Point in each of the last five years. (278013)
	Figures on conceptions are estimates based on the number of live births, stillbirths or legal abortions. They do not include miscarriages and illegal abortions.
	The table below provides the rate of (a) conceptions and (b) conceptions leading to a legal abortion, among girls aged under 18, for (i) England, (ii) Essex county and (iii) Castle Point local authority district for 2003 to 2007 (the most recent year for which figures are available).
	
		
			  Rate of (a) conceptions and (b) conceptions leading to a legal abortion, among girls aged under 18( 1) , for (i) England, (ii) Essex county and (iii) Castle Point  local authority district for 2003 to 2007 
			  Rate per 1,000( 2) 
			  (a) Conceptions 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 3) 
			 England 42.2 41.6 41.3 40.6 41.7 
			 Essex county 31.7 30.5 30.6 32.5 32.9 
			 Castle Point LAD 32.5 30.8 32.0 29.9 34.4 
		
	
	
		
			  Rate per 1,000( 4) 
			  (b) Conceptions leading to a legal abortion 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 3) 
			 England 19.4 19.1 19.3 19.8 21.1 
			 Essex county 15.2 15.9 15.9 17.5 18.7 
			 Castle Point LAD 17.7 20.0 19.8 17.5 19.7 
			 (1) Under 18 years at estimated date of conception. (2) Number of conceptions to women under 18 per 1,000 female population aged 15 to 17. (3) Figures for 2007 are provisional. (4) Number of conceptions to women under 18 leading to a legal abortion per 1,000 female population aged 15 to 17.

Bank Services: Lincolnshire

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of households in  (a) Cleethorpes constituency and  (b) Great Grimsby constituency that have bank accounts.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Family Resources Survey data for 2006-07, published in June this year, show that the number of adults without access to a bank account fell from 2.8 million in 2002-03 to 2.1 million in 2006-07. The survey data do not provide figures by constituency. However they show that around 91 per cent. of households in the Yorkshire and Humberside region are 'banked'.

Local Government Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, column 391W, what data the Office of National Statistics' uses to make comparisons between spending levels of local authorities.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I have been asked to reply.
	Information from local authorities are recorded on annual revenue outturn (RO) and budget (RA) forms.

Suicide

Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people have  (a) committed suicide and  (b) attempted to commit suicide in each (i) local authority area and (ii) constituency area in each quarter of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated June 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people have (a) committed suicide and (b) attempted to commit suicide in each quarter of the last five years in each (i) local authority area and (ii) constituency area in England. (279073)
	The tables provide the number of deaths in England where suicide was the underlying cause of death by (1) local authority in each year (table 1), and (2) local authority in each quarter for all years combined (table 2), (3) parliamentary constituency in each year (table 3), and (4) parliamentary constituency in each quarter for all years combined (table 4), for 2003 to 2007 (the latest year available). Copies of the tables have been placed in the House of Commons library.
	Figures are not available for local authorities and parliamentary constituencies by individual year and quarter, as these data are judged to be too detailed to preserve anonymity in death statistics.
	Figures are not available for the number of people who have attempted to commit suicide, since these data are not routinely collected. Results from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey for 2000 and 2007 (the two most recent surveys) estimated that 0.5 per cent of persons aged between 16 and 74 in England attempted suicide in 2000, and 0.7 per cent in 2007.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Demos

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality whether the Government Equalities Office has any contracts with the think-tank Demos.

Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office has not had any contracts with Demos.

Discrimination: Age

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent representations she has received on the effects of age discrimination legislation on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Maria Eagle: This summer we will be publishing a consultation document on our developing proposals for exceptions to the prohibition on age discrimination against adults in services and public functions under the Equality Bill. The accompanying impact assessment, which will include a Small Firms impact test, draws on our ongoing discussions with business representatives about impacts, costs and benefits and will invite further evidence on potential impacts of the proposals.

Domestic Violence

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many centres for victims of domestic violence have been opened in the last 12 months.

Michael Jabez Foster: The provision of services to victims of domestic violence is a local issue; local decision makers are best placed to assess local needs. The majority of services are delivered through local providers who are supported and funded by local bodies, such as local councils and health organisations. As such, the Government do not collect information centrally on the number of services available for victims of domestic violence.
	However, the Government do take the issue of domestic violence very seriously and since 1997 have taken significant steps to combat it. The Government have continued to provide funding to help lines to support a range of victims including the national 24 hour free phone help line (0808 2000 247); Men's Advice Line and Enquiries for male victims (0800 801 0327); Broken Rainbow for LGBT victims (08452 60 44 66); and RESPECT for perpetrators wishing to change their behaviour (0845 122 8609).
	In addition, the Specialist Domestic Violence Court (SDVC) programme has continued to expand and the Government are committed to increasing the number of SDVCs to 128 by 2011. Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences are currently operational in over 200 areas, and will be rolled out nationally by 2011. Furthermore, in 2008-09 we provided over 6 million to support the roll-out of Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs).

Employment Tribunals Service

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many actions under employment law have been brought against the Government Equalities Office in each year since its establishment; how many such actions were brought under each category of action; and how many such actions were contested by the Government Equalities Office at an employment tribunal.

Maria Eagle: No such actions have been brought.

Government Equalities Office: Equality Bill

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many individual representations the Government Equalities Office has received from members of the public concerning the provisions of the Equality Bill since its publication; and how many of these representations were  (a) in favour of and  (b) opposed to the provisions of the Bill.

Michael Jabez Foster: We have received 158 individual representations from members of the public concerning the provisions in the Equality Bill, since the Bill was published on 28( )April 2009.
	Many of the correspondents cover a wide range of issues and do not simply make representations of support or opposition to the Bill. Collating and analysing this information would be complex and incur a disproportionate cost.

Government Equalities Office: Drinking Water

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much the Government Equalities Office has spent on water coolers in each of the last two years.

Michael Jabez Foster: Since its creation on 12 October 2007 the Government Equalities Office has not spent any money on the provision of water coolers.

Government Equalities Office: Industrial Health and Safety

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much the Government Equalities Office has spent on health and safety training for its staff in each of the last two years.

Michael Jabez Foster: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Government Equalities Office: Information and Communications Technology

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much the Government Equalities Office has spent on the maintenance of its website in each of the last two years.

Michael Jabez Foster: The GEO website was established in financial year 2008-09. The cost of maintaining it in that year was 4,846.29.

Government Equalities Office: Manpower

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many people from ethnic minority backgrounds are employed by the Government Equalities Office.

Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office employs 23 staff (20 per cent. of its workforce) from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Government Equalities Office: Manpower

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many  (a) women and  (b) men are employed by the Government Equalities Office.

Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office employs 69 women and 36 men.

Government Equalities Office: Manpower

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff the Government Equalities Office has employed in each month since October 2007.

Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office has employed the following number of staff since it was established in October 2007. A monthly breakdown is not available for the first year of GEO's operations. Since the implementation of GEO's own set of terms and conditions in October 2008 automated recording of staff numbers has been introduced and monthly data are available.
	
		
			   Number 
			 October 2007 62 
			 March 2008 70 
			 October 2008 99 
			 November 2008 102 
			 December 2008 107 
			 January 2009 104 
			 February 2009 104 
			 March 2009 105 
			 April 2009 106 
			 May 2009 112 
			 June 2009 105

Government Equalities Office: Surveys

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much the Government Equalities Office spent on staff surveys in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008; and which companies were contracted to carry out the surveys.

Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office did not spend any money on staff surveys in 2007 or 2008.

Victim Support Schemes: Rape

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality 
	(1)  on what date rape crisis centres will be able to begin applying for funding from the new 1.6 million Special Fund; against what criteria applications will be assessed; who will be responsible for deciding which centres receive funding; when she expects the first grants from the Fund to be  (a) allocated and  (b) distributed; and at what points in the financial year such funds will be distributed;
	(2)  when she plans to answer Question 268042, on rape crisis centres, tabled by the right hon. Member for Maidenhead on 26 March 2009.

Michael Jabez Foster: Details of how to apply to the Special Fund have been made available on the Government Equalities Office website since Tuesday 28 April when the Special Fund opened. This includes information on eligibility criteria, governance and assessment procedures. A Board has been established to assess grant applications. The Board comprises of representatives from the two umbrella bodies, (Rape Crisis England and Wales and The Survivors' Trust), Government and an independent member. Grants are likely to be allocated and distributed in July and August 2009.

HEALTH

Allied Health Professions: Manpower

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) community and  (b) primary care-based (i) physiotherapists and (ii) speech therapists there are in each primary care trust area.

Ann Keen: The number of physiotherapists and speech therapists in each primary care trust area is set out in a table which has been placed in the Library; however, these data cannot be further separated to show community and primary care based staff.

Antidepressants

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for anti-depressants were dispensed in each of the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: The following table shows the number of prescription items for anti-depressant drugs within section 4.3 of the British National Formulary, written in the UK and dispensed in the community, in England.
	
		
			  Prescription items dispensed in the community, in England, 2004 to 2008 
			   Number (thousand) 
			 2004 28,995.5 
			 2005 29,389.9 
			 2006 31,038.0 
			 2007 33,839.6 
			 2008 35,960.5 
			  Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system

Cancer: Consultants

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants were employed in the treatment of cancer patients in the NHS in each year since 2001.

Ann Keen: Many medical specialities spend a considerable amount of time working with cancer patients, including staff from the anaesthetics, surgical and paediatric specialities, therefore it is not possible to give a total number of consultants employed in the treatment of cancer patients.
	The NHS information centre has identified six main groups working in the treatment of cancer patients, a table of consultants working in these six groups since 2001 is shown as follows.
	
		
			  Hospital and community health services (HCHS): Medical consultants within the six main cancer specialties 
			  Number  (headcount) 
			  England as 30 September each year  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 All main cancer specialties 3,721 3,913 4,169 4,381 4,593 4,711 4,810 5,034 
			 Clinical oncology 333 315 347 392 438 482 506 533 
			 Clinical radiology 1,645 1,702 1,810 1,876 2,014 2,061 2,086 2,224 
			 Haematology 556 588 609 637 648 663 680 684 
			 Histopathology 915 968 1,021 1,083 1,094 1,087 1,111 1,129 
			 Medical oncology 147 185 202 201 215 233 225 235 
			 Palliative medicine 125 155 180 192 184 185 202 229 
			  Notes: Data Quality. Workforce statistics are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. The NHS information centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data. Processing methods and procedures are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where this happens any impact on figures already published will be assessed but unless this is significant at national level they will not be changed. Where there is impact only at detailed or local level this will be footnoted in relevant analyses.  Source:  The information centre for health and social care medical and dental workforce census.

Customer Experience Information in Health and Social Care Review

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the outcomes of his Department's Review of Customer Experience Information in Health and Social Care.

Ann Keen: The report relating to the Department's' review of customer experience information in health and social care was published on the Department's website on 29 April 2009. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library.

Demos

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) private meetings and  (b) public engagements Ministers in his Department have attended at which representatives from the think-tank Demos were present in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: In the last 12 months, I attended a meeting with Demos on 4 February 2009.

Demos

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has any contracts with the think-tank Demos.

Phil Hope: The Department has had no contracts with the think-tank Demos since it assisted with the partial funding of Making It Personal published in January 2008.

Dentistry: Easington

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there are in Easington constituency; and how many patients received NHS services from those dentists in the last 24 month period for which information is available.

Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested.
	The numbers of dentists with national health service activity during the year ending 31 March 2008 are available in table G1 of annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007/08 report. Information is provided by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT) but is not available by constituency. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006. This report, published on 21 August 2008, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0708
	Following a recent consultation exercise, this measure is based on a revised methodology and therefore supersedes previously published work force figures relating to the new dental contractual arrangements. It is not comparable to the information collected under the old contractual arrangements. This revised methodology counted the number of dental performers with NHS activity recorded via FP17 claim forms in each year ending 31 March. The published figures relate to headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
	Information on the number of patients seen in the most recent 24 month period is available in table D3 of annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England, Quarter 3, 31 December 2008 report. Information is provided at quarterly intervals from 31 March 2006 to 31 December 2008. Information is provided by PCT and SHA but is not available by constituency. It is based on the PCT boundaries which came into effect on 1 October 2006. This report, published on 21 May 2009, has been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0809q3

Departmental Billing

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of invoices his Department and its agencies paid within 10 days of receipt in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The quantity and proportion of invoices paid within 10 days of receipt to commercial suppliers are shown in the following tables. The Department's figures are shown in Table 1 and its executive agencies; NHS Purchasing and Supply Authority (NHS PASA) and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are shown in Table 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Department of Health 
			  Month  Quantity of invoices paid within 10 working days to commercial suppliers  Proportion (percentage) of invoices paid within 10 working days to commercial suppliers 
			  2008   
			 June 15,942 98.44 
			 July 14,781 96.85 
			 August 12,601 98.13 
			 September 14,439 97.40 
			 October 15,403 98.11 
			 November 13,384 98.14 
			 December 14,202 95.69 
			
			  2009   
			 January 15,830 97.02 
			 February 12,777 78.19 
			 March 16,949 95.56 
			 April 16,250 96.44 
			 May 15,851 95.77 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Executive agencies: NHS PASA and MHRA 
			  Month  Quantity of invoices paid within 10 working days to commercial suppliers  Proportion (percentage) of invoices paid within 10 working days to commercial suppliers 
			   NHS PASA  MHRA  NHS PASA  MHRA 
			  2008 
			 June n/a 139 n/a 37.27 
			 July n/a 202 n/a 52.74 
			 August n/a 129 n/a 37.83 
			 September n/a 167 n/a 45.26 
			 October n/a 141 n/a 35.16 
			 November n/a 158 n/a 47.73 
			 December 121 144 31 40.34 
			  
			  2009 
			 January 155 171 43 44.30 
			 February 110 231 44 67.35 
			 March 173 342 42 91.44 
			 April 66 145 21 48.99 
			 May 66 260 20 64.04

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training courses have been attended by special advisers in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Mike O'Brien: The special advisers have attended no training courses in the last 12 months.

Diabetes: Orthopaedics

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase awareness of the risk of amputations for people diagnosed with diabetes.

Ann Keen: Reducing the number of amputations resulting from diabetes relies on good management of and services for people with diabetes. The Diabetes National Service Framework sets out the overall strategy for preventing long-term complications of the condition. This has also been supplemented by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance, which recommends that people with diabetes should be offered foot examinations by trained personnel as part of their annual review. It also recommends that local national health service organisations have systems in place to identify people who may be at risk of developing foot complications and to offer them preventative foot care.
	However, it is for local NHS organisations to commission a comprehensive service for people with diabetes that includes podiatry services.

Disability Aids

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve the design of  (a) wheelchairs and  (b) other care aids and equipment.

Phil Hope: It is for local decision what wheelchairs or other care aids or equipment to purchase and supply. For example, it is the responsibility of each primary care trust (PCT) to provide services, such as the provision of wheelchairs. The decision about which type of wheelchair is to be allocated to an individual is one taken at local level, after detailed clinical consultations and patient evaluation, by the PCT concerned.

Doctors: Working Hours

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he expects the review of the effect of the European Working Time Directive on junior doctor training to report findings by August 2009.

Ann Keen: This was discussed at the recent meeting of the Board of Medical Education England and the Chairman, Sir Christopher Edwards, is writing to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State with proposals for taking forward the review.

Fluoride: Drinking Water

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the incidence of primary bone cancer in populations receiving fluoridated water.

Ann Keen: The Department commissioned research into the effects of fluoridation on health. A Systematic Review of Public Water Fluoridation published by the University of York in 2000 found no clear association between, water fluoridation and cancer, but called for further research to strengthen the evidence base.
	A subsequent research study commissioned from the Medical Research Council, Water fluoridation and health (2002) stated that:
	although available evidence suggests no link between water fluoridation and either cancer in general or any specific cancer type (including osteosarcoma, primary bone cancer), an updated analysis of UK data on fluoridation and cancer rates is recommended.
	Both documents have been placed in the Library. Accordingly, section 58 of the Water Act 2003 placed a duty on strategic health authorities (SHAs) to monitor the effects of fluoridation schemes on the health of persons living in the fluoridated area and publish reports containing an analysis of the effects on health at four-yearly intervals.
	We have commissioned the West Midland Public Health Observatory to propose a set of standard indicators, which can be used by SHAs to discharge this duty. We understand that, in compiling its proposals, the Observatory is considering whether data on the incidence of bone cancer held in cancer registries could be included among the indicators.

Fluoride: Drinking Water

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse of adding fluoride to public drinking water in the North West.

Ann Keen: The capital costs will depend upon the extent of the area it is proposed to fluoridate. North West Strategic Health Authority is still considering the options in the light of a feasibility study it commissioned from the water company. Evidence from existing fluoridation schemes suggests that the recurring costs of fluoridation are about 80 pence per head of population per year. This compares to an average of 40 per person spent each year on national health service dental services.

Fractures

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken to increase levels of understanding of bone health.

Ann Keen: The NHS Choices website provides advice on bone health, suitable for the general public and those newly diagnosed with osteoporosis, at:
	www.nhs.uk/conditions/osteoporosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx
	More detailed information, suitable for health professionals, is available on the NHS Evidence website at:
	www.evidence.nhs.uk/Search.aspx?t=osteoporosis

Health Services

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure that patients who have been seen initially within the 18-week target and who need follow-up treatment receive it within a similar timescale.

Mike O'Brien: All patients should be treated without unnecessary delay according to their clinical need. It is for doctors to determine a patient's clinical priority and patients should not experience undue delay at any stage of their treatment pathway. It is important, therefore, that services match their capacity with demand so that no patient waits unnecessarily to be seen whether for their first appointments or for follow up appointments.

Health Services

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce the conclusions of the review of care services; and what further consultation he proposes to have before so doing.

Phil Hope: The Government announced in the pre-Budget report 2007 that they would publish a Green Paper on reform of the Care and Support System, led by the Department. The Government subsequently confirmed in the Budget report in April this year that they intend to publish the Green Paper in June 2009. An exact date for publication has yet to be announced.
	The Government ran a six-month public engagement on the future of Care and Support from May until November 2008. Findings from this have helped to inform the Green Paper, and a report of the findings will be published alongside the Green Paper.
	There will be a formal consultation on the Green Paper after its publication, which will last for at least 16 weeks, concluding at the end of October 2009.

Health Services: Diabetes

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to improve co-operation between hospitals and primary care trusts on specialist care for the management and prevention of diabetic foot disease.

Ann Keen: It is important that people with diabetes have access to a multidisciplinary team that includes podiatry services. The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)'s guidelines on the prevention and management of foot problems in people with diabetes advise that foot examinations should be carried out by trained personnel as part of the annual review process.
	We continue to work with NHS Diabetes to support the national health service in the provision and delivery of diabetes services.
	However, it is for local NHS organisations to commission a comprehensive service for people with diabetes that includes podiatry services.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much in healthcare costs has been reclaimed through the European Health Insurance card in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of that sum was attributable to expenditure on  (a) pharmaceutical products,  (b) emergency care and  (c) surgery in each such year.

Gillian Merron: The following table shows the amounts claimed and estimates of claims yet to be submitted by the United Kingdom against other European economic area (EEA) member states for each of the last seven calendar claim years. Comparable information prior to 2002 is not available. The amounts are combined claims for temporary visitors (via European health insurance cards), posted workers (via E106 forms) and referrals for treatment in other EEA countries (via E112 forms). Due to the nature of the claims system between member states, it is not possible to disagreggrate these data by either type of claim or type of treatment. The figures in the following table reflect the fact that EEA medical costs are typically submitted by EEA member states (including the UK) one to three, and sometimes more, years in arrears.
	
		
			   UK claims against member states (000) 
			 2002-03 14,200 
			 2003-04 15,248 
			 2004-05 18,700 
			 2005-06 20,600 
			 2006-07 20,400 
			 2007-08 25,500 
			  Note: Totals are based on estimates of the costs of EEA health care claims made annually for the purposes of provisions made in the Department of Health accounts in accordance with Treasury resource accounting rules.  Source: Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) exercise

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Government have paid to other EU member states under the European Health Insurance Card scheme in each of the last 10 years.

Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 228-30W.

Hearing Impaired: Sight Impaired

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance he plans to give local authorities in implementing his Department's deafblind guidance.

Phil Hope: Revised guidance for deafblind people is due to be published this summer following consultation with key stakeholders. This will replace the previous guidance.
	The Department's Innovation, Excellence and Service Development Fund is providing funding to Deafblind UK to help promote greater independence for deafblind people. The project will deliver services focused around individual social and health care and support to enable deafblind people to live with greater independence and aims to meet needs in a manner that respects individual dignity and personal choice and offers the opportunity to break the isolation that is prevalent with this disability.

Heart Diseases: Suffolk

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will meet the volunteers who run the Suffolk Air Ambulance to discuss their role in proposed arrangements for dealing with cardiac emergencies in East Suffolk;
	(2)  when he expects the East of England Strategic Health Committee to start its public consultation on proposed changes to the treatment of cardiac emergencies in East Suffolk.

Mike O'Brien: I respectfully decline the request to meet the volunteers at the moment.
	We would encourage the volunteers who ran Suffolk Air Ambulance to discuss directly with Suffolk Primary care Trust their role in proposed arrangements for dealing with cardiac emergencies in East Suffolk.
	We have been advised that the East of England Strategic health Authority (SHA) did consult on the proposals for heart attack services, as part of 'Towards the best, Together'. This consultation took place from 12 May to 4 August 2008 and directly involved more than 7,000 people across the region. It included a structured public opinion survey of 2,500 people, 86 local meetings, a structure sample survey of 1,000 staff and 77 detailed submissions form stakeholder groups.
	In addition, a half-day meeting on the acute care proposals took place with the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 9 July 2008.
	East of England SHA has asked Professor Roger Boyle CBE, National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke, and a team of experts to review the plans for the introduction of a new Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention service in Suffolk.
	If, after this process is complete, representatives of the volunteers still wish to meet me then I will see them.

Home Care Services: Consultants

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to primary care trusts on funding domiciliary visits by consultants in the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: No specific guidance has been issued to primary care trusts on the funding of domiciliary visits by consultants in the last ten years. Funding to cover the costs of domiciliary visits is included in primary care trust allocations; these then flow from primary care trusts to service providers.
	Principles governing the receipt of additional fees by consultants, including domiciliary visits, form part of the 'Terms and Conditions of ServiceConsultants (England) 2003'. A copy has been placed in the Library. Guidance on the payment of additional fees to consultants, including domiciliary visits, was issued to employers to support the implementation of the 2003 consultant contract. A copy has been placed in the Library. It is expected that domiciliary visits will normally be scheduled as part of a consultant's programmed activities and, therefore, not attract any additional payment.

Home Care Services: Consultants

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many domiciliary visits were made by consultants in each  (a) specialism and  (b) primary care trust area in the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.

Home Care Services: Elderly

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there was in the proportion of older people being supported to live in their own home during 2007.

Phil Hope: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care collects information on the number of people aged 65 and over receiving community-based services from councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs).
	The numbers of people aged 65 and over, per 1,000 of the population aged 65 and over, helped to live at home by CASSRs are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Numbers of older people per 1,000 of the population aged 65 and over being helped to live independently (receiving any community-based service) in England 
			  As at 31 March  Number 
			 2006-07 80 
			 2007-08 81 
			  Source: NHS Information Centre referrals, assessments and packages of care return, table P2s and Office for National Statistics mid year population estimates

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average treatment waiting times are for  (a) Chorley Hospital,  (b) Lancashire Primary Care Trust and  (c) England.

Mike O'Brien: The Department collects referral to treatment (RTT) data at trust level and not for individual hospitals where these form part of a larger trust. Chorley hospital forms part of the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust for which data has been provided.
	Average (median) RTT waiting times for March 2009 (latest published data) are as follows:
	
		
			   Median waiting times (weeks) 
			  Admitted  
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 7.6 
			 Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust 6.0 
			 England 7.7 
			  Non-admitted  
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 4.5 
			 Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust 4.3 
			 England 3.8

Lorazepam: Diamorphine

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of stocks of  (a) lorazepam and  (b) diamorphine.

Mike O'Brien: Stock of lorazepam and diamorphine is fully available in the supply chain.

Lung Cancer: Health Services

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has issued recent recommendations to acute hospital trusts on the proportion of lung cancer patients to receive active treatment.

Ann Keen: The Department has not issued any recent recommendations to acute trusts on the proportion of lung cancer patients to receive active treatment.
	In 2005, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence issued guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer patients. This guideline offers best practice advice on the care of adults who are suspected of having, or are diagnosed with, lung cancer.

Lung Cancer: Surgery

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to  (a) increase the number of thoracic surgeons and  (b) increase the rates of surgical resection for lung cancer patients.

Ann Keen: It is for local service providers to determine the work force required to deliver the health service needs of their population, and to ensure that care is delivered in a manner that meets national standards.
	In 2005, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer patients. NICE recommends surgical resection for suitable lung cancer patients.

Maternity Services

Robert Wareing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the number of midwives required to maintain the standard of healthcare for pregnant women in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced a package of measures in February 2008 to support strategic health authority plans to recruit an extra 1,000 midwives by 2009, rising to around 4,000 by 2012, dependent on the birth rate continuing to rise.

Maternity Services

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels of neonatal nurses in  (a) Lancashire Primary Care Trust and  (b) England;
	(2)  what criteria will be used to measure the effectiveness of the Operating Framework for the NHS in England in 2008-09 in ensuring the provision of an adequate number of neonatal nurses.

Ann Keen: It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) in partnership with local authorities, strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, and to commission services accordingly.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency: Consultants

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency spent on consultants in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The information is shown in the following table
	
		
			  Medicines and Healthcare  P roducts Regulatory Agency 
			   Spend (000) 
			 2004-05 731 
			 2005-06 2,135 
			 2006-07 1,125 
			 2007-08 801 
			 2008-09 1,178

Mental Health Services

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 1 June 2009,  Official Report, column 118W, on mental health services, whether the 13 million package of measures to support people with distress is new money.

Phil Hope: The 13 million funding for 2009-10 announced by the Government in March for the package of measures designed to support people who are experiencing depression or anxiety to get back to work is newly allocated money. This is additional to the existing funding for the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme that will rise to 173 million in the third year (2010-11).
	The new 13 million funding will help to fund a faster roll-out of talking therapies; a new network of employment support workers linked to every talking therapy service who will provide job support for people with common mental health problems; training of health advisers on the dedicated NHS Direct phone line who are being trained to spot people who might be experiencing depression because of economic problems and to refer them to help; and better online advice and information about the availability of services near to people's homes through NHS Choices.

Mental Health Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has evaluated on the link between economic downturns and demand for psychiatric services; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: Experience from previous recessions is that the need for psychological support increases as more people face financial, job and housing worries than at other times.
	The 13 million funding for 2009-10 announced by the Government in March for the package of measures designed to support people who are experiencing depression or anxiety to get back to work is newly allocated money. This is additional to the existing funding for the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme that will rise to 173 million in the third year (2010-11).
	The new 13 million funding will help to fund a faster roll-out of talking therapies; a new network of employment support workers linked to every talking therapy service who will provide job support for people with common mental health problems; training of health advisers on the dedicated NHS Direct phone line who are being trained to spot people who might be experiencing depression because of economic problems and to refer them to help; and better online advice and information about the availability of services near to people's homes through NHS Choices.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence  (a) to issue its interim process guide for determining indicators for inclusion in the Quality and Outcomes Framework and  (b) to call for evidence from interested parties for indicators for potential inclusion in the Quality and Outcomes Framework from 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published its interim process guide for determining indicators for inclusion in the Quality and Outcomes Framework on 5 June. NICE intends to make a facility available on its website for submitting proposals for new indicators or changes to existing indicators in the summer.

NHS: Foreign Workers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the number of non-UK nationals  (a) working,  (b) working as doctors and  (c) training to become doctors in the NHS.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect these data centrally and is not therefore able to provide the information.
	It is estimated that 7.5 per cent. of undergraduate medical students are non-EEA.

Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive the final report of the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board.

Phil Hope: We expect that the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board's final report will be completed in summer 2009.

Operational Efficiency Programme

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to promote the uptake of collaborative procurement strategies within the NHS and health sector, as recommended in HM Treasury's May 2009 review, Operational Efficiency Programme: collaborative procurement.

Mike O'Brien: The Department published the Commercial Operating Model Necessitynot nicety on 7 May 2009, which will meet future challenges by building procurement skills, organised through a clear and coherent system. The key elements of the commercial operating model include promoting the uptake of collaborative procurement strategies within the national health service and the Department. These include:
	creating regional support units, which will bring together existing organisations and offer services to and be owned by the NHS locally;
	seize savings benefits from pooling the NHS's purchasing power through the NHS Supply Chain contract by making it work harder and smarter; and
	creating a new departmental commercial centre to strengthen commercial and procurement support for the Department and to ensure alignment of the wider commercial landscape, including support for cross-government collaborative procurement strategies.
	Copies of the Commercial Operating Model have already been placed in the Library.

Patients: Safety

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate for reporting to the Reporting and Learning System is for each NHS trust.

Ann Keen: Tables provided by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) have been placed in the Library. They set out the reporting rates for national health service organisations, based on patient safety incidents that occurred between April and September 2008 and were submitted to the Reporting and Learning System by the end of November 2008.
	The response rate is calculated by taking the number of incidents, dividing by a denominator and multiplying by 100.
	The NHS organisations are grouped into three clusters, each with their own specific denominator for ease of statistical comparison. The clusters are:
	acute;
	primary care with in-patient provision and mental health; and
	primary care with no in-patient provision.
	A summary of the denominators used for each cluster is set out as follows:
	for acute NHS organisations it is the number of admissions in a six month period (April-September 2008);
	for primary care organisations with inpatient provision and mental health organisations, it is the number of bed days in a six month period (April-September 2008); and
	for primary care organisations with no inpatient provision, it is the population figure for the six month period (April-September 2008).
	There is no suitable denominator for ambulance organisations and therefore no reporting rate is calculated. The NPSA are currently looking into ways to make comparisons across this cluster more meaningful.
	The denominator data are drawn from the following sources:
	Department of Health Hospital Episode Statistics database;
	Welsh Assembly Government Statistical Directorate and; and
	UK National Statistics.

Patients: Safety

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nutrition-related adverse incidents have been recorded by the National Patient Safety Agency in each month since it was established.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of nutrition-related adverse incidents that have been recorded by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) in each month since it was established in 2001 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	However the Agency's recent Quarterly Data Summary, published in May 2009, provides an overview of what has been learnt from an analysis of nutrition-related patient safety incidents reported as occurring during 2006 and 2007. A copy of the summary has been placed in the Library. The analysis was carried out by the King's College, London in collaboration with the NPSA.

Patients: Safety

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patient safety incidents occurred in each NHS trust between April and September 2008 and were submitted to the Reporting and Learning System by the end of November 2008.

Ann Keen: A table, supplied by the National Patient Safety Agency, which sets out the number of incidents that occurred in each organisation between April and September 2008 and which were submitted to the Reporting and Learning System by the end of November 2008 has been placed in the Library.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he expects Professor Ian Gilmore's review into prescription charges to be  (a) completed and  (b) published;
	(2)  what resources his Department has allocated to Professor Ian Gilmore's review into prescription charges;
	(3)  what progress has been made on Professor Ian Gilmore's review into prescription charges.

Mike O'Brien: The Government have asked Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians, to undertake a review of prescription charges. The review has sought the views of the public, clinicians and patient representative bodies on how to implement the proposed exemption for people with long-term conditions, including how it could be phased in. To date, this has included a web based survey, written submissions of evidence, deliberative research with the public and with general practitioners (GPs) and oral evidence sessions held with key stakeholder groups.
	The review was due to report to Departmental Ministers in the summer. However, following discussions between Ministers and Professor Gilmore, he will undertake further work in order to ensure that proposals can be implemented smoothly and efficiently. Professor Gilmore is now due to report to departmental Ministers in the autumn. The report will also be published in the autumn.
	The Department has a small team of officials supporting Professor Gilmore on his review. This includes three policy officials and two analysts. None of these staff are working solely on the review. In addition, the Department incurred expenditure of over 150,000 on the review in the last financial year, which includes the costs of deliberative research, stakeholder workshops and meetings. Further expenditure of this nature is likely as Professor Gilmore completes the review.

Social Services: Finance

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the formula by which the social care reform grant is disbursed.

Phil Hope: The Social Care Reform grant is allocated to a local authority according to its proportional share of the total adults' personal social services (PSS) relative needs formulae, with a minimum allocation of 10,000 for each local authority.
	Details of the allocation basis for all PSS grants are published in the 2008 Local Authority Social Services Letter, a copy of which has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Localauthoritysocialservicesletters/DH_091106
	The formulae for the adults' personal social services relative needs formulae are contained in Chapter 4 of the Local Government Finance Report 2008-09. This is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/0809/lgfr0809s/index.htm

Sunbeds: Young People

Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the merits of prohibiting the use of sunbeds by persons under the age of 18 years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the merits of prohibiting the commercial use of unsupervised, coin-operated sunbeds; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what recent steps he has undertaken to improve public awareness of the health risks posed by sunbeds.

Gillian Merron: The Government advise against the cosmetic use of sunbeds, including coin-operated sunbeds, particularly by minors. The Cancer Reform Strategy commits the Government to reviewing the options for possible regulation of the sunbed industry, and we are expecting in the near future the publication of the report on sunbeds of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation and the Environment (COMARE).
	SunSmart is the national skin cancer and sun protection campaign run by Cancer Research UK on behalf of the UK Health Departments. The 2009 campaign focuses on teenagers and young people, and aims to raise public awareness of the dangers of sunbeds and sunburn. As well as engaging with the media to promote skin cancer prevention, the SunSmart website at:
	http://info.cancerresearch.org/healthyliving/sunsmart
	provides information, advice and downloadable resources on the risks to health of sunbeds and sunburn. The campaign has also created interventions to reach young people through social networking sites.
	In addition the Department of Health in England has worked with the Health and Safety Executive who have recently issued revised guidance for sunbed operators and users.

Thalidomide

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had on compensation for thalidomide victims;
	(2)  what assessment he made of the average life-time cost to thalidomiders resulting from their disability.

Gillian Merron: The Department has received written representations from the National Advisory Committee to the Thalidomide Trust and others on the issue of Government compensation for thalidomide victims. No recent discussions have taken place.
	Thalidomide victims are compensated through a private settlement, which was agreed between the Thalidomide Trust, which was established to administer annual payments to victims, and Distillers, which is now part of Diageo plc, the company that marketed the drug in the United Kingdom. The adequacy of the compensation fund is therefore a matter for the Thalidomide Trust and Diageo plc.
	No assessment has been made of the cost to thalidomide victims resulting from their disabilities.

Tranquillisers

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what scientific advice his Department has received from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the effectiveness of medical treatment by prescribed tranquillisers in the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs do not advise on the effectiveness of medical treatment.

Transplant Surgery: Overseas Visitors

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1110W, on surgery: overseas residence, how many people recorded as resident outside the UK, excluding the Republic of Ireland, and categorised in Group 2 received organs between April 1998 and March 2008.

Ann Keen: The following table shows organ transplants from deceased donors into patients recorded as resident outside the United Kingdom excluding Republic of Ireland and categorised as Group 2; April 1998 to March 2008. All transplants listed took place in national health service hospitals.
	
		
			   Number 
			 1998-99 22 
			 1999-2000 38 
			 2000-01 59 
			 2001-02 46 
			 2002-03 53 
			 2003-04 52 
			 2004-05 27 
			 2005-06 21 
			 2006-07 7 
			 2007-08 5 
			 Total 330

Warfarin

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the net ingredient cost per head of population in each primary care trust area of prescriptions of warfarin was in the last three years for which information is available.

Mike O'Brien: Figures for individual primary care trusts in the period requested are taken from the Prescribing Analysis and CosT tool system and have been placed in the Library.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Academies

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many potential sponsors are in discussion with his Department on the establishment of a new academy; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Department is currently in discussion with around 200 individual sponsors for academy projects due to open in September 2009 and beyond. We expect to open the 200(th) academy in the upcoming academic year. As part of the National Challenge programme we will open up to a further 100 in September 2010, well on the way to our target of 400.

Academies

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many academies have been established in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: 50 academies have opened since June last year. 47 opened in September 2008 and a further three opened in January 2009.

Academies

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which Minister in his Department has lead responsibility for the academies programme; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: I am the new Minister responsible for academies. I am delighted to be taking responsibility for Academies at this important point in the programme.
	Academies have been successful in raising standards in areas where they had previously been low and we expect to open the 200(th) academy in the upcoming academic year. As part of the National Challenge programme we will open up to a further 100 in September 2010, well on the way to our target of 400.

Bullying: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of cases of bullying in secondary schools in  (a) Tameside and  (b) Stockport in each year since 2001.

Vernon Coaker: We are unable to provide figures for the number of bullying incidents in individual local authorities and schools as this information is not collected centrally. Our bullying guidance recommends currently that schools record incidents of bullying and report these data to their local authority. We have flagged up that schools can use the data to monitor their anti-bullying policies and respond to and manage individual cases more effectively, and that local authorities can use the data to identify trends and evaluate area-wide initiatives.
	We intend to introduce a new statutory duty on schools to record incidents of bullying between pupils early next year, and will specifically consult on whether schools should be obliged to report these incidents to their local authority. We will consult on the scope of the legislation in the autumn and bring into force the new regulations in 2010.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing the recommendations in Lord Laming's review of child protection services in England over the next five years.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 11 June 2009
	The Government are investing 130 million in social work reform over the full spending review period of which 57.8 million is additional new investment announced on 6 May 2009 as part of 'The protection of children in England: action planThe Government's response to Lord Laming'. This represents a substantial commitment to support the recruitment, training and development of social workers and will significantly increase the capacity of the system to implement change immediately.
	Expenditure on children's social care has also increased by over 90 per cent. in real terms between 1997-98 and 2008-09, equating to an average real terms increase of 6.1 per cent. per annum. It is the responsibility of all partners on Children's Trusts to assess the adequacy of their funding of children's services. As Lord Laming acknowledged in his report, 'The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report', most of his recommendations require all partners on Children's Trusts to ensure that they are applying existing guidance and good practice effectively and do not depend on additional resources.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what training courses have been attended by special advisers in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Diana Johnson: Special advisers receive training as appropriate to enable them to fulfil their duties and responsibilities as set out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers.
	However, special advisers in this Department have not attended any training courses in the last 12 months.

GCSE

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the Answer of 21 July 2008,  Official Report, column 929W, on children: disadvantaged, how many and what proportion of  (a) all pupils and  (b) pupils eligible to receive free school meals in each local authority area did not attain any GCSE grades higher than a D in 2008.

Vernon Coaker: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 19 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1330W.

National Curriculum Tests

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils in each local authority area achieved a Level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics in Key Stage 2 tests in 2008.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested at local authority level has been placed in the House Libraries.

Ofsted: Finance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much and what proportion of Ofsted's budget was used to fund the inspection of schools in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(2)  what budget Ofsted has set for each of its divisions and directorates for 2009-10.

Vernon Coaker: These are matters for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and copies of her replies have been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 10 June 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	Table A shows Ofsted's expenditure on the inspection of schools for the 12 month period from April 2008 to March 2009, as well as its proportion of Ofsted's total gross expenditure.
	
		
			  Table A: Ofsted ' s expenditure on schools inspection, April 2008-March 2009 
			   Expenditure ( million) 
			 Total expenditure on school inspections carried out under Section 5 of the Education Act 2005 57.5 
			 Total expenditure on school inspections carried out under Section 8 of the Education Act 2005 8.4 
			 Total expenditure on education surveys 3.1 
			 Total expenditure on the inspection of maintained schools 69.0 
			 Ofsted total gross expenditure 222.0 
			   
			 Proportion of Ofsted's expenditure spent on the inspection of maintained schools (percentage) 31.1 
		
	
	The total gross expenditure is derived from Ofsted's draft resource accounts for 2008-09, presented to parliament on 9 June. We have used information from this analysis to complete the table.
	Inspections carried out under Section 5 of the Education Act 2005 represent the routine programme of inspections of maintained schools. Inspections carried out under Section 8 of the Education Act 2005 represent additional monitoring visits for maintained schools judged to be in a category of concern. Ofsted also undertakes inspection activity in schools as part of its programme of surveys, and the gross expenditure relating to this work is included. The figures set out represent the full cost of inspection activity and include direct, indirect and overhead costs.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 9 June 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	Table A shows the gross revenue budget for each directorate or area of Ofsted's work for the financial year 2009-10.
	
		
			  Table A: Gross revenue budget by Ofsted Directorate/area of work, 2009-10 
			  Directorate/area of work   (million) 
			 Children directorate 69.4 
			 Education directorate 69.7 
			 Learning and skills directorate 15.6 
			 Corporate services directorate 37.8 
			 Finance, procurement and property directorate 8.2 
			 Non-recurrent transitional costs to achieve savings targets 11.8 
			 Capital 1.0 
			 DUP 2.0 
			 Total 215.5 
		
	
	Ofsted is currently undergoing an internal restructure and, from September 2009, a different directorate structure from that outlined will take effect.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.

Pupils: Diabetes

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department plans to take to increase support for children diagnosed with diabetes in school.

Diana Johnson: While there is no legal requirement on schools or school staff to manage a pupil's medicine or support a child's medical need, all pupils should have the opportunities of a good education and we would encourage schools to do what they can to support a child with a medical need.
	To ensure that children with long term conditions receive the help and support they need so that they can take a full role in school life, it is our intention that the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Leaning Bill will make schools a statutory relevant partner in local children's trusts, primary care trusts and others, and require them to work in partnership with other local agencies to improve children's well-being. They will be represented on the children's trust board and contribute to the preparation and monitoring of the local children and young people's plan. We will also ensure that the relevant guidance makes specific reference that partners need to consider locally to support schools in managing children with medical conditions.
	We announced in the Child Health Strategy that we will update the guidance 'Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings'. The revised guidance will include clear statements of expectations of those involved in supporting pupils with medical conditions, including schools and Primary Care Trusts. The Department will also be setting up a stakeholder group, which will include expert organisations such as Diabetes UK, to help review and revise the guidance.

Pupils: Walking

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on encouraging children to walk to school in each of the last five years; and how much funding it has allocated for such purposes in 2009-10.

Diana Johnson: The following table shows the amount paid to schools from 2004-05 in small capital grants to support schools with approved school travel plans as part of the joint DCSF/Department for Transport (DFT) Travelling to School Initiative, which sets out a series of measures to support local authorities and schools to encourage more children to walk, cycle or take the bus to school. 20 million will be made available in 2009-10.
	
		
			   Amount paid () 
			 2004-05 14,251,730 
			 2005-06 22,657,923 
			 2006-07 21,495,745 
			 2007-08 22,704,632 
			 2008-09 18,977,031

Schools: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the  (a) requirement for and  (b) cost of school building repairs in (i) Tameside and (ii) Stockport in the next three years.

Vernon Coaker: The Department allocates capital funding to local authorities and schools. It then relies upon them to prioritise expenditure in accordance with local asset management plans. Accordingly, no assessment is carried out centrally of the requirement for and cost of school building repairs at local authority level.
	Capital allocations to Tameside and Stockport for the current three year spending review period 2008-09 to 2010-11 amount to 38.0 million and 52.9 million respectively. Resources available for the period 2010-11 onwards have not yet been confirmed. Current allocations compare with 3.2 million for Tameside and 1.6 million for Stockport in 1996-97.
	In addition, Tameside has a Building Schools for the Future wave 3 projects, with an indicative allocation of 80.2 million of conventional capital funding, and 97.5 million of PFI credits.

Schools: Polling Stations

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools were closed or partly closed for use as polling stations on 4 June 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The Department does not collect or record this information centrally.

Schools: Procurement

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department has taken to promote the uptake of collaborative procurement strategies within schools, as recommended in HM Treasury's May 2009 review, Operational Efficiency Programme: collaborative procurement.

Diana Johnson: The Educational Procurement Centre (EPC) within the Department for Children Schools and Families is working with The Pro5 Group of Professional Buying Organisations (PBOs) to develop and commission collaborative arrangements for schools to access a wide range of goods and services.
	OPENthe Online Procurement for Educational Needs system is the Department's eProcurement tool for schools that has been developed with and for schools to aid them in procuring their goods and services in one convenient location should they wish to use it. We are working with public sector buying organisations such as Pro5 to utilise OPEN to meet their needs so that it can display collaborative catalogues and contracts.
	EPC is working with departmental procurers, other government Departments and PBOs to analyse and assess opportunities for collaborative procurement in the schools sector.
	The Department has also worked with the Office of Government Commerce to develop guidance in collaborative sourcing for schools, i.e. the new energy guide.

Schools: Repairs and Maintenance

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the requirement for repairs to school buildings in Milton Keynes in the next five years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of such repairs.

Vernon Coaker: The Department allocates capital funding to local authorities and schools. It then relies upon them to prioritise expenditure in accordance with local asset management plans. Accordingly, the Government do not carry out a central assessment of the requirement for and cost of school building repairs at local authority level.
	Capital allocations to Milton Keynes for the current three year spending review period 2008-09 to 2010-11 amount to 75.7 million. In addition, Basic Need Safety Valve (BNSV) funding was allocated of 28.0 million. This was later reduced to 13.4 million following Milton Keynes' assessment of the impact of the economic downturn on house building. Resources available for the period after 2010-11 have not yet been decided.

Schools: Standards

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what results each local authority-supported school in  (a) Newcastle,  (b) North Tyneside constituency and  (c) Northumberland achieved against each of the new criteria included in the National Challenge in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what percentage of children at each school has been eligible for free school meals in each such year; and where each school ranked on such criteria among all local authority-supported schools in England in each such year.

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what results each local authority-supported school in  (a) Merseyside and  (b) Crosby constituency achieved against the National Challenge criteria in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what percentage of children at each such school was eligible for free school meals in each such year; and where each such school ranked on these criteria among all local authority-supported schools in England in each such year.

Diana Johnson: The current National Challenge set to each maintained mainstream schools is for more than 30 per cent. of their Key Stage 4 cohort to achieve five or more GCSEs at A*-C or the equivalent including the subjects of English and mathematics.
	At school level, this indicator is only available for 2006 and onwards while data on the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals are available for all of the requested years.
	The available data for each of the requested schools have been placed in the House Libraries and those schools in the requested constituencies are compiled as follows.
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Institution name  %  of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  National rank  %  of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  National rank  %  of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  National rank  %  of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  National rank  %  of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  National rank 
			  North Tyneside   
			 George Stephenson Community High School 14.1 1,226 11.7 1,438 11.8 1,381 11.0 1,408 7.2 1,966 
			 Churchill Community College 28.3 499 25.0 604 20.8 748 21.7 665 18.2 882 
			 Longbenton Community College 16.7 1,048 15.6 1,105 14.1 1,152 14.8 1,081 12.8 1,254 
			 Seaton Burn College, A Specialist Business and Enterprise School 15.7 1,114 14.6 1,169 13.4 1,208 12.4 1,262 12.9 1,248 
			
			  Crosby   
			 Formby High School 8.9 1,806 8.3 1,884 8.5 1,789 7.1 1,942 7.0 2,020 
			 Chesterfield High School 15.5 1,135 14.1 1,218 16.5 994 14.7 1,087 16.1 1,020 
			 Range High School 1.7 2,979 1.5 3,007 1.6 2,960 1.5 2,943 1.8 2,962 
			 Sacred Heart Catholic College 7.4 2,017 6.5 2,155 7.9 1,859 6.1 2,115 5.8 2,233 
			 St. Michael's Church of England High School (1) (1) (1) (1) 23.0 628 21.0 701 22.2 661 
			 (1) Schools that were not open in given years.  Note: Rankings among all maintained mainstream schools in England are given. 
		
	
	
		
			   2006  2007  2008 
			  Institution name  % of pupils achieving Level 2 threshold including English and mathematics  National rank  % of pupils achieving Level 2 threshold including English and mathematics  National rank  % of pupils achieving Level 2 threshold including English and mathematics  National rank 
			  North Tyneside   
			 George Stephenson Community High School 35 1,926 43 1,599 37 2,125 
			 Churchill Community College 25 2,530 27 2,522 31 2,503 
			 Longbenton Community College 51 1,011 50 1,175 49 1,385 
			 Seaton Burn College, A Specialist Business and Enterprise School 39 1,687 38 1,891 35 2,241 
			
			  Crosby   
			 Formby High School 78 221 75 254 81 225 
			 Chesterfield High School 51 1,011 45 1,483 45 1,616 
			 Range High School 74 248 74 271 82 220 
			 Sacred Heart Catholic College 52 964 57 799 80 233 
			 St. Michael's Church of England High School 29 2,288 24 2,682 42 1,810 
			  Note: Rankings among all maintained mainstream schools in England are given.

Secondary Education: Qualifications

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what qualifications his Department deems to have equivalent status to GCSEs; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator, is responsible for accrediting qualifications in England and for determining their level. All Level 1 accredited qualifications (equivalent to GCSE grades D-G) and Level 2 qualifications (equivalent to GCSE grades A*-C) are listed on the National Database of Accredited Qualifications at:
	http://www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk/index.aspx

Teachers: Resignations

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teachers who have been subject to capability review procedures have left the profession in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The operation and outcome of capability procedures in schools is a matter for local determination. Accordingly, the information requested about the number of teachers who have been subject to capability reviews and have left the profession within the last five years is not held centrally.

Truancy

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many parents in  (a) Crosby and  (b) England have appeared in court on charges related to the unauthorised absence of their child from school in the last (i) six, (ii) 12 and (iii) 24 months.

Vernon Coaker: The Ministry of Justice collects and publishes data for England and Wales on prosecutions brought against parents under the Education Act 1996 for the offence under s444(1) of failing to secure their child's regular attendance at school; and for prosecutions under s444(1A), the aggravated offence of knowing that their child is failing to attend school regularly. It is possible, because of the way courts record data, that some data are also collected under the more general heading of various offences under the Education Act 1996.
	The information on the number of parents prosecuted by local authorities in England and Merseyside which includes Crosby for failing to secure their children's regular school attendance between 2006 and 2007 (latest available data) is detailed in the following table. Data are collected on the basis of police force region and not constituency.
	
		
			  The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences under the Education Act 1996 S.444, in the Merseyside police force area, and England, 2006 to 2007( 1,2) 
			Merseyside police force area  England 
			  Statute  Offence description  2006  2007  2006  2007 
			 Education Act 1996 s.444 (1)(8) Failure to secure regular attendance at school 37 181 4,437 5,903 
			 Education Act 1996 s.444(8)(la)(8a) added by Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 s.72 Parent knows that their child is failing to attend school regularly and fails without reasonable justification to cause him or her to attend school 82 79 1,559 1,840 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Evidence and Analysis UnitOffice for Criminal Justice Reform, Ministry of Justice

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Legislation: Electronic Publishing

Tom Watson: To ask the Leader of the House what recent discussions she has had with representatives of mySociety on methods of electronic publication of bills by the House; and if she will make a statement.

Barbara Keeley: My predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant), had various discussions and correspondence with mySociety on this issue.

TREASURY

Banks: Closures

David Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many bank branches have been closed in the last six months by banks in which the Government have purchased a shareholding in the last two years.

Kitty Ussher: The Government's shareholdings in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds) are managed by UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI), and for Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley they are currently managed by the Treasury. All shareholdings in these banks are managed on a commercial basis. The closure of branches is an operational decision for the board of each bank.
	It is a matter for each bank to disclose this information.

Cheltenham and Gloucester

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions Lloyds TSB held with UK Financial Investments Ltd on its plans to close high street branches of Cheltenham and Gloucester; and what reports he received from his Department's representative on the Board of Lloyds TSB on the matter.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 12 June 2009
	UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) has been set up to manage the Government's investments in financial institutions as an active and engaged shareholder, operating on a commercial basis and at arms length from Government. This includes monitoring performance through maintaining an active and regular dialogue with investee companies' board to satisfy UKFI that the boards are operating effectively, and that companies' strategies protect and enhance shareholder value.
	The framework document between HM Treasury and UKFI sets a requirement that UKFI will not intervene in the day-to-day management decisions of investee companies, with the companies retaining their own independent boards, which will manage the banks and determine their strategy. Closing branches is an operational decision for the Board of Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds).
	As part of the recapitalisation scheme announced on 8 October last year, the Lloyds has announced two new independent non-executive directors on 2 February. The purpose behind their appointment is to strengthen the board of the bank and to provide independent oversight in respect of governance and other matters in the interests of all the shareholders of the bank. They are not representatives of the Government.

Child Trust Fund: Castle Point

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many child trust fund vouchers have been issued to residents in Castle Point constituency; how many accounts have been opened by residents of the constituency; and what his estimate is of the value of those accounts.

Kitty Ussher: The most recent constituency level statistics on child trust fund accounts were published on 6 November 2008 and can be viewed on the HM Revenue and Customs' website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ctf/cons-stats-oct08.pdf
	HM Revenue and Customs does not have data on the value of child trust funds at constituency level.

Demos

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has any contracts with the think-tank Demos.

Kitty Ussher: No.

Departmental Training

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) staff and  (b) ministerial away days have been organised by his Department in each of the last five years; and what the cost of such events was in each year.

Kitty Ussher: For details of the cost of away days prior to 2007-08, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 220W, to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond).
	Disaggregated information on the number of away days held by  (a) staff and  (b) Ministers is not held centrally and could not be provided within the disproportionate costs threshold.
	The following table shows total recorded spending on away days in 2007-08, the latest year for which audited figures are available.
	
		
			  2007-08 Treasury away days 
			   000 
			 Core treasury 211 
			 Group shared services(1) 68 
			 Total 279 
			 (1) HM Treasury, OGC and DMO established a Group Shared Services (GSS) function in 2007-08, including former OGC teams working from locations outside London.

Departmental Work Experience

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many work placements his Department offered to  (a) school pupils,  (b) university students and  (c) graduates in each of the last five years.

Kitty Ussher: The number of individuals employed as placement students in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 35 
			 2005-06 31 
			 2006-07 38 
			 2007-08 28 
			 2008-09 34 
		
	
	It is not possible to distinguish between the different categories of work placement.

EU Budget

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the maximum liability that could arise for the UK as a result of the deployment of the balance of payments facility which allows the EU to borrow money in its own legal personality.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 9 June 2009
	The EC Budget and all member states take on a contingent liability as a result of lending from the balance of payments facility. The loan guarantee risk is borne by the Budget, but no specific budgetary allocation is made for this. Should costs arise from providing this facility, it would be for the Commission to propose, and Council and the European Parliament to agree, how that liability would be met from within the existing financial framework.

Excise Duties: Fuel Oil

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what revenue from road fuel duty has been raised from sales in Na h-Eileanan an Iar in each year since 2005-06;
	(2)  if he will make an estimate of the revenue from road fuel duty raised from sales in each region in 2008-09.

Kitty Ussher: Fuel duty revenues are not disaggregated by region, as fuel duty is paid by fuel producers and importers, not by end consumers. Historical fuel duty revenues for the whole UK are available on HMRC's UK Trade Info website at:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bulloil

Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was received by the Exchequer in  (a) vehicle excise duty and  (b) fuel duty receipts in each of the last five years.

Kitty Ussher: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1675W, by my predecessor my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Angela Eagle) to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker).
	The Treasury publishes details of tax receipts as a matter of routine in the pre-Budget and Budget reports. The most recent can be found in table C6 of the Chancellor's 2009 Budget report at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/Budget2009/bud09_chapterc_463.pdf

Financial Ombudsman Service

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints were lodged with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in 2008-09; and how many of those making such complaints notified the FOS that they were not satisfied with the way in which their complaint had been handled.

Ian Pearson: The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is operationally independent of Government.
	Information about the number of cases lodged with the FOS and the number of complaints about FOS' service is included in the FOS' Annual Review which is available on the FOS' website.
	http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ar09/ar09.pdf

Financial Ombudsman Service

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints were  (a) upheld and  (b) rejected by the Service Review Team of the Financial Ombudsman Service in 1998-99.

Ian Pearson: The Financial Ombudsman Service was not established until 1 December 2001.

Individual Savings Accounts

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date persons under 50 years old will be eligible for the increase in the level of the annual maximum permissible investment for individual savings accounts.

Ian Pearson: At Budget 2009 the Government announced that from 6 October 2009 the ISA limits will rise for people aged 50 and over to 10,200, of which up to 5,100 can be saved in cash. From 6 April 2010 the ISA limits will rise to these new levels for all savers.

Individual Savings Accounts

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the increase in the level of the annual maximum permissible investment in individual savings accounts was initially available only to persons aged over 50 years old.

Ian Pearson: The Government recognise that low interest rates, which are benefiting many people with mortgages, have meant that savers have seen their return from savings fall. In particular, this has affected people who are retired, or are approaching retirement, who are often more reliant on their savings income to meet day-to-day needs or fund discretionary purchases. As announced in Budget 2009, the Government are therefore taking targeted action now to help people aged 50 and over with their savings. The ISA limits are being raised for those aged 50 and over from 2009-10, enabling them to move more of their savings into a tax-advantaged ISA, rewarding those who have saved by improving their returns. The Government also recognise that people need to be supported to save as the economy emerges from the downturn, and therefore the ISA limits will increase to the same level for all savers from April 2010.

Individual Savings Accounts

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to increase annually the maximum permissible annual investment in individual savings accounts.

Ian Pearson: All savings incentives are kept under review. The current ISA limits mean that the majority of people can hold all of their savings in a tax-advantaged way.
	As announced at Budget 2009 the limit will increase to 10,200 for those aged 50 and over on 6 October 2009, and for all savers from 6 April 2010.

Members: Correspondence

George Young: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Economic Secretary to the Treasury plans to respond to the letters from the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire of 17 December 2008 and 30 January, 26 February, 9 April and 28 May 2009 on the Royal Air Force Association and Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander.

Kitty Ussher: A reply has been sent to the right hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 23 April 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Christina Angelina.

Ian Pearson: Receipt of the correspondence could not be traced. A request has been made to my right hon. Friend's office for a copy.

Private Finance Initiative

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the costs and benefits of schemes under the Private Finance Initiative.

Ian Pearson: HM Treasury's Green Book
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_greenbook _guidance.htm
	states that all new policies, programmes and projects should be subject to comprehensive assessment, including an appraisal of value for money.
	Private finance initiative projects are required further to test value for money using tailored qualitative and quantitative appraisals which must form part of the project's business case
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_vfm_index.htm.

Revenue and Customs: Debt Collection

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any debt collection work contracted out by HM Revenue and Customs is undertaken by unregistered bailiffs.

Stephen Timms: I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 27 February 2009,  Official R eport , column 1181W.
	HM Revenue and Customs is currently carrying out a small scale six-month trial to test the use of private debt collection agencies (DCAs). The trial does not involve face to face contact or visits to home or business premises. The DCAs being used by HMRC as part of this trial are not bailiffs.

Taxation

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the evidential basis is for his forecast that the introduction of a process of personal tax accountability for senior accounting officers of large companies will result in an Exchequer yield of 40 million in 2010-11 and 50 million in 2011-12.

Stephen Timms: The forecast represents a cautious view of improved compliance. The evidential basis for the forecast came from a review of compliance issues within the group likely to be impacted and a cautious assessment of the behavioural impact of reinforcing senior accounting officer accountability.

Taxation: Gaming Machines

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the introduction of a gross profit tax to replace amusement machine licence duty system; and if he will make a statement.

Kitty Ussher: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Taxation: Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate has been made of the percentage of stamp duty receipts which will be derived from  (a) residential properties,  (b) commercial properties and  (c) shares in each of the next three years;
	(2)  what percentage of stamp duty receipts were derived from  (a) residential properties,  (b) commercial properties and  (c) shares in (i) each of the last 12 quarters and (ii) each year since 1997.

Kitty Ussher: The available breakdowns are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Annual estimates from 1997-98 and quarterly estimates from 2006  (Q 2 ) 
			   Stamp taxes on residential properties  Stamp taxes on commercial properties  Stamp duty on shares 
			  Percentage 
			 1997-98 24 19 57 
			 1998-99 23 23 54 
			 1999-2000 26 20 54 
			 2000-01 26 19 55 
			 2001-02 39 21 41 
			 2002-03 46 20 34 
			 2003-04 49 17 34 
			 2004-05 52 18 30 
			 2005-06 42 26 32 
			 2006-07 49 23 28 
			 2007-08 47 23 30 
		
	
	Quarterly receipts information is only published for stamp duties as a whole and is given for the requested quarters at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-3.pdf
	Forecasts are also only published for stamp duties as a whole and forecasts for the next three years are available in table 2.9 of the publication Budget 2009: the economy and public financessupplementary material, found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/Budget2009/bud09_econfinances_968.pdf

Taxation: Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what projections have been made for  (a) stamp duty land tax and  (b) housing sector corporation tax receipts in each of the next two years.

Ian Pearson: The forecast of stamp duties for 2009-10 and 2010-11 is given in table 2.9 of the Budget 2009 supplementary report on the economy and public finances, available at
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/Budget2009/bud09_econfinances_968.pdf
	It is not possible to estimate corporation tax receipts for the housing sector and it is therefore not possible to make any corporation tax projections of receipts from the housing sector.

Taxation: Repayments

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the timeliness of HM Revenue and Customs' repayments of over-paid tax to taxpayers.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 June 2009,  Official Report, column 982-83W, to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies).

Written Questions: Government Responses

Terry Rooney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to answer Question 273420, on IR35 investigations, tabled on 30 April 2009.

Kitty Ussher: I have replied to my hon. Friend.

JUSTICE

Prisoners Maintaining Innocence

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the number of people in prison who maintain their innocence.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held collected centrally. A person who believes they have been the victim of a miscarriage of justice can appeal against their conviction. If the appeal is unsuccessful the criminal cases review commission can be asked to review the case. The commission has the power to refer a conviction to the appeal court.

Offenders Unlawfully At Large

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offences have been committed by offenders unlawfully at large since 1997.

Maria Eagle: There is no central record of the number of offences committed by offenders who are, for whatever reason, unlawfully at large. All such offenders are placed on the Police National Computer. Should they come to the adverse notice of the police, they are liable to be arrested and returned to custody.
	The results of an audit of the number of offenders whose licences were revoked up to 30 June 2008 and who are not recorded as having been returned to custody will be published, for the first time, shortly.

Legal Aid: Human Rights Cases

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to reduce the amount of legal aid provided to prisoners claiming breaches of their human rights.

Bridget Prentice: The Government are currently considering the funding criteria to ensure that resources are being appropriately targeted on priority cases. However, it is important that the public have access to legal aid, where appropriate, to help them to enforce their legal rights.

Prison Locations

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to decide on the location of each of the remaining three planned prisons.

Maria Eagle: We are planning to locate the remaining 1,500 place prisons in those regions there is the greatest need, and intend to restart our site search shortly.

Hillsborough Disaster

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions his Department has had with the Home Department on the release of files and documents held by his Department relating to the Hillsborough disaster.

Michael Wills: My right hon. Friend, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has discussed this important issue with my hon. Friends, the Home Secretary and the Culture Secretary, with a view to ensuring that relevant information is appropriately released.
	This is a sensitive matter. We need to handle it carefully and with consideration, particularly for the families closely connected to the tragic events at Hillsborough.

Freedom Act of Information Act 2000

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress he has made in his review of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Michael Wills: In the Prime Minister's statement on Constitutional Renewal on 10 June, he emphasised our plans to look at broadening the application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and reducing the time taken to release official documents.
	We are considering carefully the responses to the public consultation on extending the Act through a section 5 order. This could include within the scope of the Act bodies performing functions of a public nature and contractors providing services that are functions of public authorities. We will publish our response to the section 5 consultation shortly.
	In his statement, the Prime Minister also announced the reduction in the 30-year rule to 20 years. Our detailed response to the 30-year rule review will be published by the summer.

Land Registration Fees

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what impact assessment he undertook on the increase in land registration fees which will be effective from 6 July 2009.

Michael Wills: The Land Registration Fee Order 2009 was made following consultation with the Land Registration Rule Committee, which includes representatives from the legal professions, mortgage lenders, conveyancers, surveyors and consumer affairs. However, in keeping with previous practice in relation to the nine fee orders since 1993, of which eight reduced the level of fees, no formal impact assessment was undertaken and the periodic adjustment of fee levels is expected by businesses in this sector.

Young Offenders: Reoffending Rates

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken to reduce reoffending rates of young offenders in the last 12 months.

Maria Eagle: The latest statistics show a 23.6 per cent. reduction in the frequency rate of juvenile reoffending between 2000 and 2007. The Government's approach to reducing reoffending is detailed in the Youth Crime Action Plan, published last summer. This sets out the triple-track approach of enforcement, non-negotiable support and prevention.

Dedicated Drug Courts

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress has been made on the establishment of dedicated drug courts; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: Following the positive indications from the evaluation of the first two pilot sites, an additional four dedicated drug court pilots commenced sitting early this year in Barnsley, Bristol, Cardiff and Salford magistrates courts. We will evaluate how the model operates at these six sites before making any decision on implementation.

Constitutional Renewal Bill

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's planned timetable is for the Constitutional Renewal Bill.

Michael Wills: We anticipate that a Bill based on the Government's Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill will be introduced before the summer recess for carry-over into the next parliamentary session.
	In addition the Government intend to bring forward a Bill to create an Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority before the House rises for the summer.

Adoption: Children

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions the Official Solicitor has been used by local authorities to progress the removal and adoption of a child from its birth family; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Official Solicitor is not used by local authorities in the way suggested. The Official Solicitor is an independent statutory office holder whose duties, when acting as a litigation friend, are to his client and not to any other party, be it local authority or the child who is the subject of proceedings.
	The function and purpose of his office is to represent a person who lacks capacity to conduct proceedings, in civil and family cases, and proceedings in the Court of Protection, across England and Wales, where, either there is no other suitable person willing and able to act, or for some other reason, failure to do so would result in an injustice. The Official Solicitor usually becomes involved in existing proceedings because he is invited to do so by the court.

Ashwell Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to publish the report of the investigation into the riot at HM Prison Ashwell in April 2009.

Maria Eagle: As my right hon. Friend the Member for Delyn (Mr. Hanson), the former Minister for Prisons, said in his written ministerial statement to the House on 20 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 2-3WS, we will make the findings of the investigation and our conclusions on it available to the House in due course.

Demos

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department has any contracts with the think-tank Demos.

Claire Ward: The Ministry of Justice has no contracts with the think-tank Demos.

Female: Offenders

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assistance his Department provides to  (a) young,  (b) elderly and  (c) female offenders in Coventry.

Maria Eagle: Offenders subject to probation supervision are assessed at the commencement of their order and throughout their sentence. They may have particular offence-related problems connected with their age or gender, and will sometimes receive specialist provision to take account of these where this will reduce their risk of re-offending and the risk of harm they pose to the public.
	West Midlands Probation Area delivers particular services for female offenders, including an Approved Premise, an accredited programme for women only, and, for women who are victims of domestic abuse, women safety workers and access to domestic abuse officers. Locally, the Coventry team has close partnerships with a number of other agencies who work with females, including offenders.
	Coventry's Youth Offending Team provides services specifically to young offenders aged under 18, and as a multi-agency team comprising staff from probation, social services, health, education and police, it is able to provide services to address the factors linked to young offenders' re-offending.

HM Courts Service

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) directors,  (b) senior managers,  (c) specialist and delivery managers and  (d) executive support and administration staff there were in each HM Courts Service office in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: A breakdown of the number of SCS and non-SCS staff (full-time equivalent) in each HM Court Service office in the last two years (as at 31 March 2008 and 2009) will be placed in the Library of the House. A new pay deal was introduced in August 2007 that unified a set of terms and conditions across the Ministry.
	With the creation of HM Courts Service in 2005 MOJ inherited all unaligned legacy terms and conditions for magistrates, crown and county courts including the pay scales which were not renegotiated until the 2007 pay deal.
	To break these down into the requested categories at court level would incur disproportionate cost.

Land Registry

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting of the Land Registration Rules Committee which has taken place in the last 12 months.

Michael Wills: There has not been a meeting of the Land Registration Rule Committee during the past 12 months. The only matter requiring the consideration of the Rule Committee during this period was dealt with through correspondence.

Land Titles

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what protection against development is conferred by land titles.

Michael Wills: Registration of title to land under the Land Registration Act 2002 does not, of itself, confer protection against development. It does, however, provide protection in other ways. For example, it gives greater security against the possibility of ownership being lost by adverse possession, or squatting as it is more commonly known.

Members

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the merits of a system for voters to recall hon. Members.

Michael Wills: In his statement to the House on 10 June, the Prime Minister confirmed that there will be consultation with all parties regarding new proposals for dealing effectively with inappropriate behaviour, including potentially the options of effective exclusion and recall for gross financial misconduct identified by the new Parliamentary Standards Authority and the House itself.

Offensive Weapons: Dyfed Powys Police

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were convicted of possession of a knife in  (a) Dyfed Powys police force area and  (b) Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Claire Ward: Information showing the number of persons found guilty at all courts for having an article with a blade or point in a public place and on school premises in Dyfed Powys police force area and Wales from 1998 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the following table. Data for 2008 will be available in November 2009.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty at all courts of knife possession( 1)  in Wales, broken down by police force area, 1998 to 2007( 2,3) 
			  Police force area  1999  1998  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Dyfed-Powys 23 29 27 31 35 36 39 45 29 35 
			 Gwent 18 20 21 20 33 23 48 36 56 66 
			 North Wales 55 60 42 51 74 61 67 77 113 89 
			 South Wales 98 101 83 94 114 111 124 120 153 140 
			 Wales 194 210 173 196 256 231 278 278 351 330 
			 (1) Includes the following offences and statutes; Having an article with blade or point in public place. (Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.3). Having an article with blade or point on school premises. (Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139A (1)(5)(a) as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.4(1)). (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Evidence and Analysis Unit - Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Prison Accommodation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many adult male sentenced prisoners are held in category  (a) A,  (b) B,  (c) C and  (d) D prisons in England and Wales;
	(2)  what the average prison population as a proportion of the in-use certified normal accommodation in category  (a) A,  (b) B,  (c) C and  (d) D prisons in England and Wales was on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the numbers of adult males serving sentences in prison establishments as at 30 April 2009 by category of prison:
	
		
			  Adult male prisoners serving sentences 
			   Number 
			 High security prisons holding sentenced and remand prisoners up to Category A 4,551 
			 Local and training prisons holding sentenced and remand prisoners up to Category B 25,067 
			 Training prisons holding sentenced prisoners up to  Category C 22,522 
			 Open prisons taking Category D prisoners 3,841 
			 Total 55,981 
		
	
	The Security categories A, B, C, and D relate to categories of adult male prisoner. Female prisoners and young offenders are not categorised in this way.
	The following table shows the numbers of prisoners in the categories of prison set out above, compared with the numbers in the certified normal accommodation:
	
		
			   Total prison population  Total certified normal accommodation  Ratio (percentage) 
			 High security prisons holding sentenced and remand prisoners up to Category A 5,845 5,392 108 
			 Local and training prisons holding sentenced and remand prisoners up to Category B 35,312 27,780 127 
			 Training prisons holding sentenced prisoners up to Category C 23,696 22,461 105 
			 Open prisons taking Category D prisoners 4,220 4,312 98 
		
	
	Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA), or uncrowded capacity, is the Prison Service's own measure of accommodation.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prison Sentences

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection for each type of offence have had their sentences extended; how many sentences were extended in the case of each such prisoner; what the length of the sentence was in each case; and by what period each sentence was extended;
	(2)  how many prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection had been released  (a) following the completion of a pre-release rehabilitation course and  (b) without having had access to a pre-release rehabilitation course on the latest date for which figures are available; and what recent estimate he has made of the number of prisoners who are waiting for access to such a course;
	(3)  how many prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection had been recalled following release on the latest date for which figures are available;
	(4)  how many prisoners of each  (a) age group,  (b) sex and  (c) ethnicity are serving indeterminate sentences for public protection;
	(5)  how many indeterminate sentences for public protection have been handed down for each type of offence in each month since their introduction;
	(6)  how many  (a) men and  (b) women sentenced to indeterminate sentences for public protection have been released in each month since the introduction of such sentences;
	(7)  how many indeterminate sentences for public protection have had a minimum term of  (a) 12 months or less,  (b) two years or less,  (c) five years or less,  (d) 10 years or less and  (e) more than 10 years in each month since their introduction;
	(8)  how many prisoners on an indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP) have served longer than their tariff in each month since the introduction of IPPs; and what the average minimum length of a completed IPP has been.

Jack Straw: Indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) are by definition indeterminate and therefore cannot be extended. The trial judge specifies the minimum period to be served for the purpose of punishment. Whether the prisoner is released at this point or any subsequent point is then a matter for the Parole Board, who will assess whether he can safely be managed in the community. IPP prisoners will be released only when the Parole Board considers that to be safe.
	Information is available centrally on the numbers of IPPs who have had access to courses promoting their rehabilitation. Information is also held centrally on the numbers of prisoners who have completed courses promoting their rehabilitation. Similarly, there is centrally held data on the numbers of IPPs who have been released from custody. However, there is no centrally held data set which links all three elements to show the numbers of IPPs who have been released from custody with or without access to a rehabilitation course. There are no centrally available reliable figures on the number of IPPs who are waiting to access such a course. NOMS is currently undertaking a mapping exercise in respect of the balance of resources available for interventions across custody and the community. NOMS is also committed to reviewing IPPs' interventions needs, on the basis of their sentence plan recommendations.
	14 prisoners serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection have been recalled following release, up to 30 April 2009.
	The NOMS IPP database is updated every other month, based on data provided by establishments. As with any large scale recording system, the database is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	The NOMS IPP database showed that, of the 5,246 offenders serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection on 24 April 2009:
	409 were under 21 years of age
	2,975 were between 21 and 35 years of age
	1,493 were between 36 and 50 years of age
	304 were between 51 and 65 years of age
	65 were aged 66 and above
	145 were female.
	These figures include those subject to imprisonment for public protection (IPP), young prisoners subject to detention for public protection (DPP), and the 104 offenders of this type who are located in a secure psychiatric hospital.
	Information on the ethnicity of these prisoners is not available. However, the latest figures to provide a breakdown by ethnicity of those prisoners serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection were given in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2007, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library. The percentage figures, as at 30 June 2007, were:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 White 78 
			 Mixed 3 
			 Asian or Asian British 3 
			 Black or Black British 14 
			 Chinese or Other 1 
		
	
	Up to 30 April 2009, 60 offenders serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection had been released from custody. The breakdown of the number of offenders released each calendar month, by gender, is given in the table.
	
		
			Male  Female  Total 
			 2006 December 1  1 
			  
			 2007 March 1  1 
			  April  1 1 
			  June 1  1 
			  July 3  3 
			  August 2  2 
			  September  2 2 
			  October 2  2 
			  
			 2008 January 2  2 
			  February 1  1 
			  March 4  4 
			  April 1  1 
			  May 2  2 
			  June 4  4 
			  July 1  1 
			  August 5  5 
			  September 3  3 
			  October 3  3 
			  November 4 1 5 
			  December 4  4 
			  
			 2009 January 5  5 
			  February 4  4 
			  March 1  1 
			  April 2  2 
			 Total  56 4 60 
		
	
	The following table lists the minimum terms for indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection given in each month since the introduction of that sentence where figures are available. These figures are taken from the Public Protection Unit Database within the National Offender Management Service. As with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing.
	
		
			  Month of sentence  Tariff not specified  Less than or equal to 1 year  Greater than 1 less than or equal to 2 years  Greater than 2 less than or equal to 5 years  Greater than 5 less than or equal to 10 years  Greater than 10 years  Total 
			 May 2005   3 1   4 
			 June 2005  1 6 6   13 
			 July 2005  2 5 20 1  28 
			 August 2005 1 2 16 23 4  46 
			 September 2005 2 9 34 36 2  83 
			 October 2005 3 8 38 46 2  97 
			 November 2005 1 11 41 41 3  97 
			 December 2005  5 23 45 4  77 
			 
			 January 2006 3 5 22 50 6 1 87 
			 February 2006  6 29 70 7 1 113 
			 March 2006 1 7 52 82 8  150 
			 April 2006  7 30 55 10  102 
			 May 2006 1 4 40 63 6 1 115 
			 June 2006  14 45 82 18  159 
			 July 2006  8 35 92 12  147 
			 August 2006  5 29 74 9  117 
			 September 2006 1 10 37 87 12 2 149 
			 October 2006  13 20 68 14  115 
			 November 2006 2 7 45 111 14 2 181 
			 December 2006  7 33 117 18  175 
			 
			 January 2007 1 12 28 85 17  143 
			 February 2007  10 39 84 17  150 
			 March 2007  12 52 106 13 1 184 
			 April 2007  9 22 89 12  132 
			 May 2007  12 33 91 13  149 
			 June 2007 2 12 45 83 12 1 155 
			 July 2007 4 8 30 87 19 1 149 
			 August 2007 3 11 30 55 13  112 
			 September 2007 5 9 31 89 20  154 
			 October 2007 4 3 34 76 16  133 
			 November 2007 7 9 36 102 15 2 171 
			 December 2007 7 12 27 77 15  138 
			 
			 January 2008 8 8 30 65 21 5 137 
			 February 2008 9 9 36 98 22  174 
			 March 2008 11 6 32 70 16 6 141 
			 April 2008 7 5 33 77 20 2 144 
			 May 2008 7 10 36 69 21 2 145 
			 June 2008 7 8 23 69 20 4 131 
			 July 2008 5 5 15 50 16  91 
			 August 2008 2 0 6 40 7  55 
			 September 2008 9 0 13 46 12 2 82 
			 October 2008 9 0 12 51 13  85 
			 November 2008 14 0 6 39 14 2 75 
			 December 2008 33 0 5 36 8  82 
		
	
	The total number of those listed above is slightly less than the IPPs received into custody as the tariff has to be recalculated and confirmed by the Public Protection Casework Section following receipt of the trial judge sentencing remarks. The time taken to carry out this process means that a number of recently sentenced IPPs are therefore not included in the above table.
	From 14 July 2008 the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 brought in changes to the sentencing framework for IPP sentences, to ensure that they are focused where they can be most effective in protecting the public: on the most serious offenders. The amendments introduced a minimum tariff of two years below which IPPs cannot be given except where offenders have committed extremely serious crimes in the past.
	The figures in the following table were taken on 24 April 2009 from the NOMS IPP database, referred to above, and include the same prisoner groups previously mentioned. The table gives the cumulative numbers of prisoners who were beyond tariff at the end of each month since the introduction of the IPP sentence. As the NOMS IPP database captures data on current IPPs only, these figures do not include IPPs who have already been discharged.
	
		
			   200 5  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 January n/a 4 84 551 1,456 
			 February n/a 6 102 592 1,550 
			 March n/a 8 126 648 1,621 
			 April 0 11 148 712 1,711 
			 May 0 14 183 793 n/a 
			 June 0 16 224 867 n/a 
			 July 0 21 259 931 n/a 
			 August 0 31 305 1,017 n/a 
			 September 0 33 351 1,093 n/a 
			 October 0 40 395 1,168 n/a 
			 November 2 51 442 1,266 n/a 
			 December 3 64 497 1,363 n/a 
		
	
	The average tariff of those who were released was one year and 134 days. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	The information requested to answer how many indeterminate sentences for public protection have been handed down for each type of offence in each month since their introduction is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Month/offence  Arson  G BH  wounding, assault,  ABH , etc.  Robbery, aggravated burglary, etc.  Possession of a firearm  Sexual offences  Threats to kill 
			 May 2005   3  1  
			 June 2005 1 3 6  1  
			 July 2005 1 4 18  4  
			 August 2005 6 13 19  4 1 
			 September 2005 2 13 42  14 3 
			 October 2005 7 25 36 2 11 3 
			 November 2005 1 14 40 3 20 1 
			 December 2005 8 19 22 3 14  
			
			 January 2006 7 17 29 5 19  
			 February 2006 4 26 45 2 22 2 
			 March 2006 5 54 43 5 23 4 
			 April 2006 5 23 32 7 22 3 
			 May 2006 10 35 25 4 23 4 
			 June 2006 14 42 46 6 32  
			 July 2006 11 41 39 6 28 2 
			 August 2006 1 35 36 6 23  
			 September 2006 7 36 38 8 33 6 
			 October 2006 6 30 31 6 26 3 
			 November 2006 13 53 48 6 29 4 
			 December 2006 9 39 54 4 40 6 
			
			 January 2007 8 31 42 7 39 2 
			 February 2007 9 38 35 3 37 1 
			 March 2007 15 52 45 6 35 5 
			 April 2007 8 36 29 2 36 4 
			 May 2007 8 51 36 1 37  
			 June 2007 11 39 34 10 38 6 
			 July 2007 5 47 36 5 39 6 
			 August 2007 4 26 30 4 35 1 
			 September 2007 4 41 41 5 43 4 
			 October 2007 8 34 40 5 28 3 
			 November 2007  57 43 4 40 4 
			 December 2007 5 39 38 3 32 2 
			
			 January 2008 7 35 50  35 2 
			 February 2008 7 46 50 4 46 6 
			 March 2008 6 39 21 5 40 2 
			 April 2008 12 43 26 7 39 3 
			 May 2008 9 33 34 9 44 1 
			 June 2008 4 30 36 4 42 2 
			 July 2008 4 25 14 1 32 1 
			 August 2008  17 16 1 14 2 
			 September 2008 5 22 19 1 21 2 
			 October 2008 6 18 21 2 27 6 
			 November 2008 6 20 15  21 1 
			 December 2008 5 19 24 4 14  
		
	
	
		
			  Month/offence  Possession of an  offensive weapon  Manslaughter  Attempted murder  Other offences  Total 
			 May 2005 4 
			 June 20052 13 
			 July 20051 28 
			 August 20053 46 
			 September 2005 1  1 7 83 
			 October 2005  3 1 9 97 
			 November 2005  3 3 12 97 
			 December 2005 2 2 1 6 77 
			   
			 January 2006  1 4 5 87 
			 February 2006  3 1 8 113 
			 March 2006  1 2 13 150 
			 April 2006 2  3 5 102 
			 May 2006 2 2 1 9 115 
			 June 2006 1 2 2 14 159 
			 July 2006  4 3 13 147 
			 August 2006 4 1 4 7 117 
			 September 2006 1 2 2 16 149 
			 October 2006  2 4 7 115 
			 November 2006  6 6 16 181 
			 December 2006 1 3 3 16 175 
			   
			 January 2007  1  13 143 
			 February 2007 2 11 5 9 150 
			 March 2007  7 1 18 184 
			 April 2007 2 6 2 7 132 
			 May 2007 1 1 3 11 149 
			 June 2007 1 5 6 5 155 
			 July 2007  3 4 4 149 
			 August 2007 1 3 2 6 112 
			 September 2007  2 1 13 154 
			 October 2007 1 1 5 8 133 
			 November 2007 1  4 18 171 
			 December 2007  5 5 9 138 
			   
			 January 2008  3  5 137 
			 February 2008  3 4 8 174 
			 March 2008  7 9 12 141 
			 April 2008  2 4 8 144 
			 May 2008  3 5 7 145 
			 June 2008  4 8 1 131 
			 July 2008  2 4 8 91 
			 August 2008 1  1 3 55 
			 September 2008  2 5 5 82 
			 October 2008   1 4 85 
			 November 2008  5 5 2 75 
			 December 2008  2 8 6 82

Prisoners: Foreigners

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of the prison population foreign nationals comprised in each year between 1994 and 2004.

Jack Straw: The percentage of foreign national prisoners (FNPs) in England and Wales prisons as at 30 June each year for the years 1994-2004 inclusive is in the following table. Number of FNPs and the total number of prisoners is included for completeness.
	
		
			   All prisoners  FNPs  FNPs of total prisoners  (percentage) 
			 1994 48,879 3,781 8 
			 1995 51,084 4,089 8 
			 1996 55,256 4,259 8 
			 1997 61,467 4,677 8 
			 1998 65,727 5,133 8 
			 1999 64,529 5.388 8 
			 2000 65,194 5,586 9 
			 2001 66,403 6,926 10 
			 2002 71,218 7,719 11 
			 2003 72,286 8,728 12 
			 2004 74,488 8,941 12 
		
	
	These data were published in December 2005 in Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004. A copy of this statistical bulletin is in the House of Commons Library and may also be found at the following website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosb2005.html#hosbl705tabs
	Generally, data on FNPs are published quarterly in the population in custody bulletin, on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/populationincustody.htm
	Annual data on FNPs, and other characteristics on the prison population, have been published each year in Offender Management Caseload Statistics from 2003 and before that in Prison Statistics England and Wales. Both publications are in the House of Commons of Library and may also be accessed via the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what criteria his Department uses to determine whether a prison is to be market-tested.

Maria Eagle: Public sector prisons were short listed for market test if identified as either poorly performing or high cost. Final selection from the short list was made on the basis of a number of operational criteria and took account of wider evidence, such as HM Inspectorate of Prisons reports.

Prisons: Mental Health Services

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in  (a) Essex and  (b) the East of England region have been transferred from prison to a secure mental health unit in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: The number of prisoners transferred in each of the last five years is given in the table.
	
		
			   Essex  East of England 
			 2004 22 79 
			 2005 18 62 
			 2006 14 83 
			 2007 17 57 
			 2008 13 69

Prisons: Operating Costs

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on the running costs of each  (a) private and  (b) public sector prison in England and Wales in each year since 1990.

Maria Eagle: The information requested spans a period of 19 years and requires information on over 130 prisons, which due to changes in structures, funding sources and accounting principles over this time is neither straightforward to produce nor comparable. These data are not held centrally. However some information can be found in the Prison Service annual report and accounts which shows direct spend at prisons each year back to 1994-95 and copies of which are available in the Library of both Houses of Parliament. Current budgets for each prison in 2008-09 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Estab. name  Budget per Phoenix 2008-09 () 
			 Acklington 18,815,756.77 
			 Ashwell 12,177,863.00 
			 Askham Grange 3,624,049.00 
			 Aylesbury 13,446,360.52 
			 Bedford 11,725,353.49 
			 Belmarsh 41,046,600.00 
			 Birmingham 30,566,795.24 
			 Blantyre House 3,101,231.00 
			 Blundeston 13,488,075.92 
			 Brinsford 17,008,808.00 
			 Bristol 15,793,668.05 
			 Brixton 20,455,893.55 
			 Buckley Hall 9,599,806.00 
			 Bullingdon 23,980,927.23 
			 Bullwood Hall 6,815,529.00 
			 Canterbury 7,477,044.52 
			 Cardiff 17,200,765.82 
			 Castington 14,929,537.92 
			 Channings Wood 16,113,351.00 
			 Chelmsford 17,256,998.00 
			 Coldingley 14,835,214.00 
			 Coltishall 2,809,654.00 
			 Cookham Wood 8,148,139.00 
			 Dartmoor 16,859,855.28 
			 Deerbolt 15,282,714.06 
			 Dorchester 7,838,179.00 
			 Dover 7,440,314.88 
			 Downview 10,357,475.00 
			 Drake Hall 8,531,026.24 
			 Durham 23,119,906.00 
			 East Sutton Park 2,818,326.00 
			 Eastwood Park 10,801,956.00 
			 Edmunds Hill 9,739,665.36 
			 Erlestoke 11,146,556.00 
			 Everthorpe 13,391,336.90 
			 Exeter 13,217,148.00 
			 Featherstone 14,996,309.92 
			 Feltham 33,319,932.00 
			 Ford 8,727,818.88 
			 Foston Hall 10,119,191.99 
			 Frankland 39,259,000.00 
			 Full Sutton 29,808,000.00 
			 Garth 21,219,920.00 
			 Gartree 16,557,342.00 
			 Glen Parva 19,276,626.00 
			 Gloucester 9,298,962.00 
			 Grendon 10,200,851.00 
			 Guys Marsh 11,892,519.00 
			 Haslar 3,758,981.00 
			 Haverigg 14,809,774.00 
			 Hewell 29,378,539.00 
			 Highdown 26,932,033.85 
			 Highpoint 17,317,312.04 
			 Hindley 18,268,763.00 
			 Hollesley Bay 6,798,085.84 
			 Holloway 21,205,168.00 
			 Holme House 20,826,739.52 
			 Hull 22,171,024.00 
			 Huntercombe 13,607,174.65 
			 IoW Cluster 38,980,239.17 
			 Isle of SheppeyCentral Services 49,307,756.78 
			 Kennet 13,300,719.00 
			 Kingston 6,312,871.10 
			 Kirkham 13,728,206.72 
			 Kirklevington Grange 5,746,769.00 
			 Lancaster Castle 7,651,736.00 
			 Lancaster Farms 17,988,179.00 
			 Latchmere House 4,768,086.98 
			 Leeds 23,369,626.00 
			 Leicester 9,636,560.00 
			 Lewes 17,144,136.14 
			 Leyhill 10,358,901.00 
			 Lincoln 15,762,616.00 
			 Lindholme 20,231,951.61 
			 Lindholme IND 1,052,082.96 
			 Littlehey 12,927,501.00 
			 Liverpool 27,319,527.91 
			 Long Lartin 26,111,000.00 
			 Low Newton 11,980,536.00 
			 Maidstone 11,832,395.49 
			 Manchester 34,426,000.00 
			 Moorland 20,747,120.54 
			 Morton Hall 8,802,535.42 
			 Mount (The) 16,374,311.00 
			 New Hall 16,016,654.04 
			 North Sea Camp 6,267,578.11 
			 Northallerton 5,877,306.00 
			 Norwich 15,945,138.96 
			 Nottingham 15,458,062.00 
			 Onley 17,740,121.28 
			 Pentonville 27,156,810.70 
			 Portland 16,489,734.00 
			 Preston 19,064,226.00 
			 Ranby 21,814,740.65 
			 Reading 9,450,511.00 
			 Risley 22,885,172.76 
			 Rochester 16,914,868.00 
			 Send 8,897,619.48 
			 Shepton Mallet 6,185,807.34 
			 Shrewsbury 8,695,335.88 
			 Springhill 5,382,318.00 
			 Stafford 15,303,034.00 
			 Stocken 17,268,796.00 
			 Stoke Heath 18,378,866.99 
			 Styal 15,285,675.97 
			 Sudbury 9,014,751.00 
			 Swansea 9,946,914.64 
			 Swinfen Hall 15,279,517.24 
			 Thorn Cross 9,160,478.19 
			 Usk 9,135,677.86 
			 Verne (The) 12,339,122.00 
			 Wakefield 29,550,400.00 
			 Wandsworth 35,191,544.28 
			 Warren Hill 9,764,911.02 
			 Wayland 18,572,691.24 
			 Wealstun 17,454,202.00 
			 Wellingborough 13,850,822.00 
			 Werrington 6,958,673.00 
			 Wetherby 14,917,808.10 
			 Whatton 19,209,540.00 
			 Whitemoor 31,487,000.36 
			 Winchester 14,840,462.14 
			 Woodhill 32,056,999.66 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 28,315,606.00 
			 Wymott 23,743,121.00 
			 Total 2,003,841,931.15

Probation Officers

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the  (a) average and  (b) maximum offender caseload is of a probation officer.

Maria Eagle: Figures for 31 December 2008 show that the average caseload per Probation Officer across the 42 probation areas in England and Wales ranged from 18 to 54 cases. Figures for the highest recorded caseload ranged from 38 to 92.

Public Opinion: Ministry of Justice

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will introduce legislation to prevent the courts from accepting the opinion of experts paid by local authorities as to the capacity of parties to give instructions to solicitors; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: There are no plans to introduce legislation. Where a person involved in legal proceedings lacks capacity (within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005) to conduct proceedings, their interests must be protected by the appointment of a 'litigation friend'. Where the issue of capacity is in question, it will often be the case that a court will require the assistance of a medical report to take an evidence based view. If such an expert report is ordered the expert has an overriding duty to the court that takes precedence over any obligation to the person from whom the expert has received instructions or by whom the expert is paid.

Sentencing: Crimes of Violence

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how long on average a person convicted of  (a) grievous bodily harm and  (b) violent disorder was sentenced to serve in custody in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Claire Ward: The following table shows the average determinate custodial sentence length for all persons sentenced for grievous bodily harm and violent disorder in 2007 where such an offence was the principal offence for which the offender was sentenced. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed, where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.
	
		
			  Average custodial sentence length( 1)  (months) for offenders sentenced for grievous bodily harm( 2)  or violent disorder( 3) , 2007 
			   Total for 2007  Total sentenced to immediate custody 
			 Grievous bodily harm 27.5 3,733 
			 Violent disorder 15.9 367 
			 (1) Average custodial sentence length excludes life/indeterminate sentences. (2) Offences of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, Causing explosion or casting corrosive fluids with intent to do grievous bodily harm, malicious wounding, racially aggravated malicious wounding or GBH, religiously aggravated wounding or GBH, racially or religiously aggravated wounding or GBH. (3) Public Order Act 1986  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Young Offenders

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what definition is used by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) of a  (a) removal from association and  (b) restrictive physical intervention in (i) the juvenile secure estate as a whole, (ii) secure children's homes, (iii) secure training centres and (iv) young offender institutions; what guidance the YJB provides on the interpretation of that definition; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: For data collection purposes, the Youth Justice Board defines restrictive physical intervention as
	Any occasion when force is used with the intention of overpowering or to overpower a young person. Overpower is defined as 'restricting movement or mobility'.
	'Removal from association' is a legislative term in relation to practice in young offender institutions and secure training centres. The relevant provisions are rule 49 of the Young Offender Institution Rules 2000 and rule 36 of the Secure Training Centre Rules 1998. For data collection purposes, the Youth Justice Board uses the term 'single separation'.
	Single separation is any instance where a young person is contained, for the purposes of control, within a locked room or enclosure with visible barriers, without staff, and cannot leave the room or enclosure whenever they want to do so. 'Purposes of control' includes preventing harm to others, harm to self and damage to property.
	Single separation includes situations where staff members act as physical barriers by blocking a doorway and preventing a young person from leaving a room.
	Single separation does not include any situation where a young person chooses to remove him- or herself from a group in order to calm down or have time out, so long as the young person has the ability to rejoin the group whenever he or she chooses to do so. Nor does it include periods when all trainees are in their rooms, for example during night hours.
	The independent Review of Restraint in Juvenile Secure Settings, which was published together with the Government's response on 15 December 2008, made important recommendations about improving practice and making sure restraint is used as sparingly as possible. The Government and the Youth Justice Board are working together to implement those recommendations.

Young Offenders: Crime Prevention

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce levels of re-offending by young offenders.

Claire Ward: The latest statistics show a 23.6 per cent. reduction in the frequency rate of juvenile reoffending between 2000 and 2007. The Government's approach to reducing reoffending is detailed in the Youth Crime Action Plan, published last summer. This sets out the triple-track approach of enforcement, non-negotiable support and prevention.

Young Offenders: Crimes of Violence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged under 18 years in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point were convicted of (i) grievous bodily harm and (ii) violent disorder in each of the last five years; and what the average length of custodial sentence was in each case.

Claire Ward: The available information is shown in the table; the figures presented are for Essex police force area, it is not possible to separate offences that occurred in Castle Point.
	
		
			  Number of offenders aged under 18 sentenced and average custodial sentence length( 1 ) (ACSL) (months) for grievous bodily harm( 2)  and violent disorder( 3) , Essex police force area, 2003-07 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Total sentenced for grievous bodily harm 16 10 18 10 14 
			 Total sentenced for violent disorder 0 0 2 1 0 
			   
			 Total immediate custodial sentences for GBH 9 6 5 5 8 
			 Total immediate custodial sentences for violent disorder n/a n/a 1 0 n/a 
			   
			 ACSL for grievous bodily harm 12.2 16.7 20.6 12.8 18.0 
			 ACSL for violent disorder n/a n/a 12.0 n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not applicable (1) ACSL excludes life/indeterminate sentences (2) Offences of: Wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, causing explosion or casting corrosive fluids with intent to do grievous bodily harm, Malicious woundingwounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm, Racially aggravated malicious wounding or grievous bodily harm, Religiously aggravated wounding or grievous bodily harm, Racially or religiously aggravated wounding or grievous bodily harm. (3) Public Order Act 1986 These data are presented on the principal offence basis, where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed, where the same sentence has been imposed for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.  Notes: 1. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. 2. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	The total number sentenced has been provided in lieu of the number convicted, lags in time between conviction and sentencing may mean numbers convicted and sentenced in a year do not match.

Young Offenders: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people under the age of 21 years in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point were charged with offences after having served a sentence restricted by section 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 in each of the last five years.

Claire Ward: The requested information is not available. The data sets compiled by the Ministry of Justice to analyse reoffending by juveniles do not allow for the identification of offenders sentenced to terms of detention under section 91 of the Powers of Criminal Court (Sentencing) Act 2000. Reoffending data for these offenders cannot therefore be produced.

Young Offenders: Restraint Techniques

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many incidents of  (a) restrictive physical intervention (RPI) and  (b) removal from association were recorded in respect of those held in each institution in the juvenile secure estate in each month between January 2007 and the latest month for which figures are available; and what the ratio was of (i) RPIs and (ii) removals from association to the number of children and young people in each such institution in each such month. [Official Report, 9 September 2009, Vol. 496, c. 20MC.]

Maria Eagle: Restraint is only ever to be used by staff as a last resort, when all other approaches have either not succeeded or would not be appropriate.
	Because of unruly and sometimes dangerous behaviour, there are occasions on which use of physical restraint is unavoidable. The interests and safety of everyone in the establishment must be considered. Other young people, staff and visitors' safety, as well as that of the young person whose behaviour is causing problems have to be taken into account.
	The data contained in the tables have been supplied by the Youth Justice Board. Table A contains data on the number of restrictive physical interventions (RPIs) from April 2007 to March 2009. It is not possible to provide earlier details as comparable statistics across the under-18 secure estate have only been available since April 2007.
	Table B contains data for the same period on the number of single separation incidents at secure training centres (STCs) and secure children's homes (SCHs). It is not possible to provide comparable data for young offender institutions (YOIs) as it is not collected centrally and could not be provided without disproportionate cost.
	Table C contains data on the ratio of RPIs to the number of young persons in YOIs, STCs, and SCHs. Table D contains data on the ratio of single separation incidents to the number of young persons in STCs and SCHs.
	Tables A to D have been placed in the Library.

Young Offenders: Restraint Techniques

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions  (a) nose, rib and thumb distraction and  (b) pain compliant techniques were used on those of each (i) sex, (ii) age group and (iii) ethnic group (A) with and (B) without a disability in each institution in the juvenile secure estate in each month between January 2007 and the most recent month for which figures are available. [Official Report, 9 September 2009, Vol. 496, c. 22MC.]

Maria Eagle: The following tables provide data supplied by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) which relate to secure training centres. Data for young offender institutions and secure children's homes are not collected centrally and cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.
	YJB's code of practice makes it very clear that restraint is not to be used except as a last resort, when other approaches have not succeeded or would not be appropriate.
	The independent Review of Restraint in Juvenile Secure Settings, which was published together with the Government's response on 15 December 2008, made important recommendations about improving practice and making sure restraint is used as sparingly as possible. The Government and the Youth Justice Board are working together to implement those recommendations.
	Secure training centres currently use an approved system of restraint known as Physical Control in Care (PCC), which includes the rib and thumb distraction techniques. It formerly also included the nose distraction technique: use of this was discontinued in November 2007 in the light of some concerns about its suitability voiced by a panel of medical experts commissioned to review the PCC techniques.
	The data provided show the use of nose, rib and thumb distraction techniques in secure training centres during the period January 2007 to March 2009. Information on the age, sex and ethnic origin of the young person restrained has been collected centrally by the YJB since April 2008. Data relating to disability are not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Table A analyses the data by type of distraction technique; Table B by sex; Table C by age; and Table D by ethnic group.
	
		
			  Table A: Use of distraction techniques in secure training centr es by technique used,  January 2007 to March 2009 
			  Nose distraction 
			   2007  2008 
			   Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 2 0 0 0 1 6 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 2 0 0 0 1 6 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Rib  distraction 
			   2007  2008 
			   Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Thumb  distraction 
			   2007  2008 
			   Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 1 0 1 1 5 4 12 3 2 2 2 1 1 2 3 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 
			 Medway 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 2 4 11 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Nose distraction 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Rib distraction 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Thumb distraction 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Use of distraction techniques in secure training centres by sex, April 2008 to March 2009 
			  Male trainees 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Female trainees 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C: Use of distraction techniques in secure training centres by age of trainee, April 2008 to March 2009 
			  Age  12 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Age 13 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Age 1 4 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Age 15 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Age 16 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Age 17 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Table D: Use of distraction techniques in secure training centres by ethnic origin of trainee 
			  Asian trainees 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Black trainees 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Trainees of mixed ethnicity 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  White trainees 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Other ethnic groups 
			   2008  2009 
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar 
			 STC total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hassockfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Medway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oakhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rainsbrook 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0